


A Million Reasons to Stay

by Books4eva180



Category: The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cancer, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, POV Alternating, POV First Person
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:20:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 52,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26518105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Books4eva180/pseuds/Books4eva180
Summary: Caroline Forbes is an ordinary 21 year old girl. She lives in NYC in a crappy apartment with her 3 best friends while trying to get her degree in journalism at Columbia with a virtually non existent love life. Well that is until she is diagnosed with Stage 2 Stomach Cancer. Caroline is devastated and till the cancer is for sure gone she swears off romance. Those plans go out the window when she falls for Klaus. Literally he runs into her and she falls onto the sidewalk. So she goes on a date with him. At first Caroline resolves to go on a few dates with him just wanting to spend time with someone who doesn't know she has cancer and treats her like she is going to drop dead any second. Though the more time she spends with him the harder it gets for Caroline to leave. How long will it be till Klaus figures out about her big secret and when he does will it tear them apart forever or bring them closer than ever?
Relationships: Bonnie Bennett/Lorenzo "Enzo" St. John, Caroline Forbes/Klaus Mikaelson, Elena Gilbert/Stefan Salvatore
Comments: 19
Kudos: 51





	1. Caroline POV

**Author's Note:**

> Read at your own risk there could be a character death. I'm just not sure how I want to take the story. Also Klaus/Caroline will be the primary ship all the other ships will be in the background and won't have any huge devolpments. If I continue there will be multiple POVs mainly Caroline and Klaus maybe onw or two by some other people P.S. this will probably suck

I wake up with a stiff groan and a sharp pain in my stomach. “Thank You Cancer” I think as I slip on my fluffy panda slippers . Cancer. The word still feels like a thick poison every time it passes my lips. About two weeks ago I went to the doctor after having stomach cramps for several weeks. At first I thought it was just regular good ol’ period cramps, but after the second week I knew something was up. While sitting in those uncomfortable leather chairs a million thoughts raced through my head as I was waiting for the doctor. My first thought was who knows maybe I was just being a big baby or maybe I just had a lot of gas. Hell I even thought about miraculous conception or some other “Jane the Virgin” type thing. Definitely not cancer. You know the movies got one thing right when the “oh so quirky girl that everyone thinks is ugly but is just a hot A-list actress in glasses” gets diagnosed with cancer is the doctor comes in with an apologetic look on their face clipboard in one hand and as soon as the word cancer leaves their mouth the world comes to a halt. Your first instinct is disbelief because you aren’t supposed to get stomach cancer at 21 years old. You're supposed to be having one night stands with cute guys, staring in crappy off-off-off Broadway plays, and all the normal young adult stuff. Not discussing how to remove the golf ball size tumor from your stomach. You heard me right Stage 2 Stomach Cancer with a freaking golf ball sized tumor from your stomach. Before I was diagnosed I actually quite liked golf; in fact I was the captain of the high school golf team. Naturally, after I was diagnosed one of the first things I did was toss my favorite golf club out of the window. I am pulled from my thoughts by my roommate and one of my best friends Katherine Gilbert knocking on the door with a worried tone “Care are you alright?” I couldn’t help but roll my eyes just a tiny bit, ever since my cancer diagnoses all three of my roommates have been treating me like I was a piece of glass. At first it was endearing and made me feel a bit better about the fact that I could very well be dying. Though after my other roommate Bonnie who is currently sleeping on the bunk bed on top of mine barged in on me sitting on the toilet because I was in there for over 5 minutes it got taxing to say the least. “Don’t worry Kat I will be out in a minute.” I say. “Ok just making sure” she replied. I waited till I heard her high heels click away before letting out a small sigh. Time to start another glorious pain filled day. I quickly get dressed putting on a simple blue yoga shirt with black leggings and combat boots opting to take my shower later that night. When I stepped out of my room I saw Katherine hunched over a mug of coffee scrolling through her phone. I tried to grab the coffee mug from her hands but she swatted my hands away. “What!” I protested “I need to take my medicine and I don’t have time to make my own coffee.” “Yes but Dr. Ornell said 1. Don’t drink caffeine 2. Eat before you take any medicine otherwise you’ll get sick.” “But I don’t ha-” “Yes I know you don’t have time to fix something that is why Elena is working a early shift at the coffee shop where there will be a hot chocolate and a muffin waiting for you since it’s on the way the way to school for you” Katherine replied cutting me off. “You guys do know you don’t have to do all of this for me right? I can take care of myself.” I said looking into her eyes. “Yeah right you would be lost without us. Even if you didn’t need our help we still would help you because we are going to do anything and everything we can so you survive this.” Katherine said sincerely grasping my cold hands with her hands warmed from the coffee mug. “Aww thanks Kat” I said graciously pulling her in for a hug. When Katherine pulled away from the hug I could’ve sworn I saw the early glimmer of tears in her eyes. Before I could say anything she was pushing me out of the door handing my school bag where I also kept my medicines all the while saying “Don't’ forget to sit down if you start to get dizzy and eat a good healthy lunch. Promise?” “Okay Katherine I promise. Love you” “Love you to babe now hurry before you miss the subway” she said before shutting the door. Soon enough I was waiting for my first of two subways. Luckily it was a relatively smaller commute than most; it was only one subway ride that connected to another than after that a 5 minute taxi to Columbia University. Though before I could hop on my second subway I had a quick stop to make the coffee shop where Elena Gilbert twin of Katherine works Cocoa Bear Coffee Company where I will need to pick up my breakfast. By the time I arrived there was a moderate line already inside it is New York City afterall. As I waited for my turn I couldn’t help but feel a cold chill creep up my spine. The little good mood I had been able to gain from talking to Katherine quickly dissipated as I wrapped my arms around my shoulders to try and warm up. I couldn’t believe I was getting cold. It was only April 3rd, but once again cancer has given me a whole new world of pain and irritation. One moment I feel as cold as the handcrafted milkshakes from Mystic Grill back at home and the next like a giant stick of fried butter. I’m pulled from my thoughts about how much of a bitch life is when Elena asks “Hey Care are you okay?”. Without even realizing it I had reached the front of the line where a sweaty faced Elena is working from behind the counter. “Oh sorry I just got distracted.” Elena’s smile twitched down a bit at the corners obviously not buying it, but ultimately she decided not to push it which I was thankful for. “Katherine said you had some food waiting for me down here so I can eat before I take my pain meds.” “I sure do!” Elena said her smile returning before she retreated to the back room and then coming out with a steaming cup of hot chocolate, a brown paper bag, and a jacket slung over her shoulder. “Here we go one cup of hot cocoa with a shot of vanilla syrup, a chocolate chip muffin, and a jacket because you look like you were cold back there.” “Wha-What are you talking about” I tried to say but ended up stumbling over my words. “You aren’t as good of a liar as you think are Caroline. You started rubbing your shoulders and were staring off into space.” “Okay but that doesn’t mean I was cold” I said defensively angry that Elena could see right through me. “Okay so you don’t want the jacket” Elena responded with a quirked eyebrow. “Fine you win I’ll take the jacket” I said defeated before taking the jacket from her and shrugging it on. “Alright how much do I owe you for breakfast?” I ask. “Are you kidding me Caroline, it is on the house!” I want to protest more but glancing down at my phone I realize I’m about to miss my second subway. “Fine but next time I’m paying.” I say with a huff. I say taking the cup and bag from her hands. “Okay whatever you say Care. I'll see you back at the apartment later tonight. Stay safe.” Elena says, shooting me a small smile before returning to the customers behind me. I barely make it to the second subway just in time to take the last available seat. As the train pulls out I pop in my earbuds to listen to Panic! At the Disco while I slowly start to eat my muffin. After I had a couple of bites of the muffin I reached into my bag and pulled out the little orange pill bottle so I could take my pain pills. Once the train comes to a halt I weave my way through the crowd before I’m hit with a small bout of nausea. Well there goes that muffin I think as I spew my meager breakfast into a nearby trash can. Once my stomach has settled I find the nearest bathroom to wipe the throw up from my face, and in hopes of making my breath smell better I take a swig of hot chocolate. When I leave the musky subway station I am greeted by a wave of heat, so I remove my jacket and put it around my waist. I am about to hail a taxi to take me the rest of the way to school when I feel something sharp and heavy collide into me as we tumble to the hard pavement. When I open my eyes I see the man who walked into me who is perhaps one of the most handsome men I have ever seen. Tall with broad shoulders dirty blonde hair in soft curls and piercing blue eyes. For a moment neither of us speak just looking at each other. Finally, he speaks “Sorry about that love” I hear him say in a cute British accent and before I know he is pulling me up off the ground. “Are you okay?” he asks, peering down at me. I find myself stumbling over my words for an entirely different reason than I was this morning. “O-oh y-yeah I’m okay a little fall never hurt anybody. What about you?” I ask. “Besides what is sure to be a pretty nasty bruise tomorrow I’ll be fine. Again I am sorry love I wasn’t looking where I was going when I ran into you.” “It’s fine. You aren’t around from here are you?” I ask with a small smile. “What gave it away?” he asked with a dimpled smirk. “Well besides that accent another dead give away is that most New-Yorkers would curse the living daylights out of the other person. I should know I’ve done it myself once or twice.” I add with an apologetic tone. “So why didn’t you yell at me then” he laughs and asks with a raised eyebrow. “I make it a point not to yell at handsome strangers.” I say returning his smile. Wait what? Was-Was I flirting with this guy I just met without even knowing is name. I can’t even remember the last time I flirted with a guy, because after my diagnosis I swore off guys and even before that I was going through a dry spell after just getting dumped by my then boyfriend James. Instead of being put off the handsome stranger replied with a smirk still on his face “Well I also make it a point not to yell at stunningly beautiful strangers as well” I couldn’t help the small blush that spread across my face. Me stunningly beautiful? He of course looked handsome with his leather jacket, henley, and jeans. Me on the other hand my hair was in a ponytail and I had bags under my eyes and was wearing an old yoga shirt and leggings. “I’m Caroline” I end up saying, holding my hand out to shake. I couldn’t help but shudder a bit at the electricity I felt when his surprisingly calloused hand enveloped mine “I’m Klaus, Klaus Mikaleson” “Nice to meet you Klaus” I say happily. For a second he searches my face as if I am supposed to have a huge reaction. After a beat of silence I finally say “Should I recognize the name?” “Oh no sorry about that love. I apologize about your hot chocolate though.” For the first time I notice my cup of hot chocolate lying abandoned on the ground, the hot liquid slowly pooling onto the ground. Suddenly I have an idea. “You know I normally wouldn’t care but what you happened to spill just happens to be the best hot chocolate in the city. Though I’ll be willing to forgive you if you would buy me a new cup.” “It would be my pleasure Caroline. I actually have a bit of time before work now and I would be happy to buy you a replacement cup at Cocoa Bear Coffee Company if you would lead the way. And wow that name is a mouthful. “Yeah I know. Sadly I don’t have time right now, but what about Saturday at…” before I could finish my sentence though I was interrupted by my phone chiming. Looking down at my phone i saw a text from Bonnie “Did you make it school alright” Shit. It was 8:27 a.m. and I had to get to my Ancient Literature class by 8: 45 a.m. and I still had to catch a taxi. “I’m so sorry I have to go or I’ll be late for class.” I say in a rush. Klaus was saying something, but I couldn’t hear because I was already running down the street and hailing the nearest taxi. When I finally got settled into the worn leather seats and was watching the blur of skyscrapers flash past the window I felt the first real smile pass my face since my cancer diagnosis all because of one Klaus Mikaelson.


	2. Klaus POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as of now I am going to be trying to at least update 2x a week either more or less depending on how much school work I have.

I stood there for a minute watching as Caroline ducked into a cab before it drove away. For a minute I just stood there running my conversation with Caroline. A feeling of disappointment overwhelms me when I realize she never gave me a time for Saturday. Oh well probably for the best the Mikaelson’s have a knack for ruining everything they touch, but I couldn’t help the frown that spread across my face and it turned into an even deeper scowl when I went to go throw her coffee cup away when I saw a little message scribbled on the sleeve of her cup “Remember that I love ya Care. Stay safe” Figures that she probably has a boyfriend and just wanted to get coffee or hot chocolate in this case to be polite.  
Oh well time to start what is guaranteed to be a very very long first day at Mikaelson Law & Co. If I had it my way I would keep as far away as I could from everything my miserable excuse for a father left on this world, but after Finn left the company to spend time with Sage Elijah needed all the help he could get. If there is one thing the Mikaelson’s are good at is being there for your siblings. With one last huff I threw the cup in the trash before continuing my walk down the street. I looked at the sights around me with a slight scowl on my face. Ugh. New York. I have already been in this cursed place a month and I already hate it. I much prefer the streets of London.  
Yes while it was still crowded it wasn’t filled to the brim with obnoxious young adults filled with delusions of grandeur of becoming a celebrity. Soon enough I was coming upon Wall Street where Mikaelson Law & Co. stood proud amongst the sea of buildings. When I stepped inside the marble tiled lobby my vision was filled with men milling about in suits. My god it’s a sea of Elijahs I think as I walk towards the main desk feeling like a fish out of water. When I arrive I find an older woman hunched over an old computer who had a laminated ID tag that read Carrie Miller. I tapped the little silver bell on the counter top and said “Excuse I’m-” Before I could finish she said “Oh you must be Niklaus Mr. Mikaelsons younger brother he said you would be here today to join the family business.” “Indeed I am I assume my dear brother has said all good things about me” “Some good, some not so good but that is normal with lawyers now come on your brother has been waiting for you all morning” she said with a laugh. “Lead the way then” I say following as she weaves her way through the crowd.  
As we approach one of the many elevators she starts asking several questions like “How are you settling into New York?” “Where did you go to law school?” “Are you excited to join your father’s company?” I answered with barely managed contempt. Why couldn’t we just get there in silence instead of exchanging in this pointless chit-chat. Thank god by the time we reached what I can only assume is Elijah’s office we had just approached the topic of my father, but before she could get a question out I was knocking on the door. Elijah’s proper voice rings out “Come in” With one last deep breath I turn the doorknob and step into his office. The first thing I see is the New York City skyline through the big glass window behind Elijah’s desk. “Niklaus I’m glad to see that you made it here okay Ms. Miller, you are free to return to your desk so I can catch up with my brother.” “Alright Mr. Mikaelson have a nice day” he says, shooting me one last smile before shuffling out the door.” For a minute I just stand there looking around his office. For the most part the walls are covered by bookshelves holding thick compendiums about the art of law and such. “Why don’t you have a seat brother and we discuss your part in this company?” “If we must” I say sitting down in one of the chairs across from his mahogany desk. “So when Finn worked here he was in charge of assigning our low-profile cases to our lawyers and helped me with the more high-profile ones as well as taking care of all of our out of state stuff. Will you be okay with that?” “Yes that will be fine brother after all the only reason why I agreed to work here was to help you out. If I had it my way I would never set foot in anything that father left behind. Also are you sure you want me to work here? We both know that father would rather be dead then allow me to soil anything he created.”  
Elijah let out a displeased sigh while pinching the bridge of his nose. “You do know Nikalus there were a number of qualified people I could’ve chosen other than yourself but I choose you. You were top of your class at Oxford and you are the one that I want to join our team. Besides it doesn’t matter what father thinks anymore because he isn’t here anymore.” I murmur something along the lines of praise the lord earning a sharp look from Elijah. Ignoring it I say “So when do I start?” “I believe it would best if you start next Monday, Though while you are here I would like to show you your office so you can start moving your stuff in before then.” On the way to what I can only imagine being Finn’s old office he says “I am sorry I wasn’t able to meet up with you when you arrived in New York last month. We have had several high-profile cases and without having Finn around most of the work has fallen on me.” “It’s fine brother both Rebekah and Kol have both kept me plenty busy this past month” That was actually true both of his younger siblings both had taken up the hobby of dropping by his penthouse unannounced several times a week. They said it was because they missed me. With Rebekah that might have been true, but Kol on the other hand most likely came by with the sole intention of driving me crazy.  
This causes a small smile to spread across Elijah’s face “Yes Rebekah was excited when she learned that you would finally be joining us in America. Though Niklaus you can also use this as a chance to get out there and meet some new people so you don’t have to rely on your siblings for company for the rest of your life.”  
For a second I think of Caroline with her light laugh and sharp wit before my trance is interrupted by Elijah saying we finally arrived at my office. Like I expected it was Finn’s old office which I could tell by the lingering scent of expensive cologne and lemons. For the most part it is exactly like Elijah’s except the bookshelves are empty and the window view is far less grand. “You are welcome to put anything you want in here as well as exchange the furniture. Also Niklaus I please ask when you come here on Monday to wear the proper work attire. I send him a small nod before he says “Well in that case I will see you on Monday. Stay as long as you need.” and with that he walked out the door leaving me alone to his thoughts. I walked to the window and looked out to see all the people walking up and down the street with taxis flying by. Caroline once again flashes through my mind. I think of her and her hair the color of sunshine and big blue eyes with shards of green. Almost subconsciously my fingers itch for a pencil so I could draw her face. Once again I feel a slight sense of disappointment that our Saturday meeting will probably never happen since she was never able to get a time out. Probably for the best anyway. With one last glance around my new office I leave to go enjoy my last few free days before I am stuck working this job.  
It’s Friday and even though I met Caroline two days ago I still can’t get her out of my head. I’m painting and I suddenly find myself looking at Caroline’s face. I’m walking down the street and when I see a flash of golden hair I find myself following it in hopes that it is Caroline. On Thursday I even had a one night stand with a leggy brunnete, but nothing I did could stop me from thinking about Caroline. Eventually, as I’m laying in bed on Friday night I take my phone and look up Cocoa Bear Coffee Company. I make a mental note of the address and resolve that I will go there tomorrow morning and hope that Caroline will be there. If not I’ll drop it and let Caroline go. On Saturday I wake up early around 6:30 and I am able to make it to the coffee shop right around 7 when it opens. Like most New York coffee shops it is easy to miss squished in between a row of other buildings. When I walk in I’m the only one there. I decided to order a cup of coffee while I wait to keep myself up. I walk up to the counter to order and I’m met with a young girl with big brown doe eyes and pin straight brown hair. She almost looks like an innocent version of Rebekah. “Hi I’m Elena what can I get you today?” I take a second to glance up on the menu and eventually order a plain black coffee for here and sit at one of the side tables. I wait there for almost an entire hour before ordering a second cup of coffee. I eventually tell Elena I am waiting for somebody. By the fourth cup of coffee I am approached by Elena who wore an apologetic smile on her face when she says “I am sorry sir, but since the coffee shop is getting more crowded if you're going to be here by yourself I’m going to have to ask you to leave. If you want I can take a name?”  
Bitter disappointment courses through me that this whole morning was a waste of time and say “I guess the name is Klaus Mikaelson. I was waiting for a friend but I guess she just got caught up.” For a second she just stands there looking at me and I could have sworn I saw amusement flash in her eyes. This angers me. So she thinks this is funny? That I have been here for nearly three hours waiting for a woman who will probably never show? Before I could open my mouth to tell her off she says “You know I have a feeling whoever you are waiting for will show up pretty soon. So why don’t get you a fresh coffee and a hot chocolate for your friend?” “Wait how did you know my friend likes hot chocolate instead of coffee?” For a second I could’ve sworn a brief flash of panic crosses her face, but she quickly recovers and says “Most people who come here come for the hot chocolate. In fact you were one of the few people today who ordered coffee. So should I get you and your friend your coffee and hot chocolate?”  
“I’ll just take the coffee to go please this time.” I say preparing to leave. “If I were you I would stay here for a couple more minutes and I’ll prepare the coffee and hot chocolate for here. So that way if your friend arrives soon like I think she will she will have a cup of hot chocolate waiting for her. If she doesn't show up you get to try our famous hot chocolate as well. It’s a win-win situation.” Oh alright a few more minutes couldn’t hurt. “Alright go ahead I guess” I say. Elena shoots me one last smile before walking away. The coffee comes out first and when I finish I prepare to leave not caring about the hot chocolate feeling disappointed about Caroline. Right before I am about to stand up and pay before leaving the door opens and...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?


	3. Caroline POV

The smile on my face quickly fades away when I realize I left before I could give him a time on Saturday. Crap. Maybe I can do some internet stalking when I get home and find some way to contact him. I am pulled from my thoughts by the taxi driver pulling to a stop as close to campus as he could get. I quickly pull out my wallet and give him money before getting out of the car. I take a quick look at the clock and it reads 8:38 a.m.  _ Shoot _ . At a manageable pace it is a 10 minute walk to my Ancient Literature class. Looks like I’m going to have to run for it. Almost a minute in I already regret it, feeling a twisting pain in my gut, but I ignore it and continue on. About halfway to my class the pain becomes unbearable and I have to take a breather. I end up getting to class almost 4 minutes later. When I arrive semi panting in the classroom every eye turns to me. My professor Professor Cooper instead of ridiculing me like he does to most students who walk in late he just looks me up and down with an apologetic look on his face and he says “Ah Ms. Forbes I’m glad you could join us today. Please take your seat.” I feel an embarrassed blush creep up my face as I take my seat. This is worse than it would be if he yelled at me. For every exception every professor makes when it comes to my situation it is like waving around a big flag that says “I have cancer!” The rest of class passes by uneventfully with us studying Homer’s the Iliad and the Odyssey. After Ancient Literature I had a Public Relations class. Thankfully, it was in the same building so I was actually able to get there early. Soon enough I was done with my classes for the day and was thinking about lunch when I got a text from Enzo  _ “Hey gorgeous feel like grabbing a bite to eat at Woodfire Flatbread for lunch? I’ll pay”  _ I type a quick reply  _ “Sure meet there in 10?”  _ His reply was instant  _ “Sounds like a plan”  _

I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face when I saw Enzo standing in front of the little restaurant when the taxi pulled to a stop. Ever since we met three years ago at the school dining hall we have been best friends. When Enzo turned around to see me his signature smile spreading across his face. At the sight of it I couldn't help but launch myself into his arms. “I’ve missed you too gorgeous” he says when I wrap my arms around his back. “Come on” I say pulling back “I believe you promised me lunch and I intend to collect. Any chance that Bonnie will be joining us?” Bonnie and Enzo had been dating for a little over a year now. It irritated me to no end that it took them 2 years to get over themselves and sleep together. Enzo’s heart practically jumped out of his throat when I first introduced him to Bonnie. Though for whatever reason anytime I tried to set them up they would back out at the last minute. I could have practically kissed Keith Grant after he made that god awful spiked punch that got Bonnie dressed as Wonder Woman to kiss Enzo dressed as Hamilton at the Sophomore Halloween party. “Sadly that the arse of a professor that she has always drones on 30 minutes longer than he is supposed to so it will be just the two of us.” When we finally sit down I try to order a coke but Enzo says “No caffeine” “Just a little won’t hurt!” I try and protest but he isn’t hearing it so I yield and order a Sprite. While we are eating out of the bread basket and waiting for our flatbread I make the mistake of mentioning Klaus. As soon as I finish talking about Enzo remarks “Wow finally getting out there blondie I’m proud of you. Though I must say if you're trying to replace me since you failed to snag me down nobody can replace the real deal” he mocks. “Okay first of all even before you feel head over heels for Bonnie I wouldn’t even kiss you if someone paid me to. Two we will never see each other again because I never got the chance to say a time because I was late for class. It’s probably for the best anyway because we have no idea how this whole cancer thing will turn out” Well I soon realize this was the wrong thing to say because he all of a sudden gets all serious all playfulness gone from his voice

“Wait, Caroline did the doctors say something? Is everything alright?” “Besides the golf-ball sized tumor? Everything should be okay. I won’t know how the chemo is working until week 6 and tomorrow is only my 3rd session. I only meant that we have no idea what could happen. Next thing you know I could have a Magic 8 ball in my stomach that says  _ outlook not so good _ .” “Ok moving past that really weird analogy. I know you are going to be okay. Want to know why Forbes?” “Why?” I ask. “Because no god out there who is in the right state of mind would bring Caroline Forbes to them before her time is up. Think about it. That would be an extra 80 years of nagging, tantrums, and bossiness piled on top of etirnety.” Enzo says his earlier bravado returning. I try hard to fight a smile but end up failing so I settle for throwing a wadded up napkin at his head. 

After we finished lunch we decided to take a walk through the park together. When Enzo starts to talk about what he plans to do for his two anniversary with Bonnie I start to feel a pounding at the base of my skull. I must have stopped walking because Enzo stopped in his tracks concerned, etched across his face and asks “Are you okay?” Then I realize I never took my medicine for my headaches and fatigue with lunch. I tell this to Enzo. Well more like mumble. Next thing I know I start swaying, but before I can hit the ground I am leaning against Enzo’s sturdy frame being led away to the streets where he hails a taxi to take me back to my apartment. The last thing I remember is Enzo guiding me towards the couch and covering me in a worn blanket. When I wake up it must be several hours later because the golden yolk of the afternoon sun has turned into a mellow orange. I sit up with a yawn stretching my arms out to work out the crick in my back. I look around for a second only to notice I must be the only one home. When my feet touch the floor I am pleasantly surprised to find that Enzo has removed my shoes and socks and placed my panda slippers right near the couch.  _ “Thank you Enzo” _ I think as I slip my feet into the warm slippers. Entering the kitchen I found a note on the fridge from Enzo  _ “Caroline, I called your doctor to see if I should bring you in and he said you should be fine after you finish your nap and take your medicine. I would’ve stayed until you woke up but Bonnie had an emergency and I know you would’ve kicked me in the ass if I didn’t go and help her. Katherine should be home soon. It’s probably a good thing I am leaving before she gets here otherwise she would eviscerate me for not reminding you to take your medicine. Which I do deserve. There is a glass of water for you in the fridge to take your medicine with. Text me when you get up. -E”  _

I shoot him a quick text before grabbing the water from the fridge and pinch my nose. Ever since I started chemo, water has tasted disgusting so I quickly take a gulp of water with one of my pills barely managing to keep it down. I glance at the clock at 5:37 p.m. so Katherine should be home soon. In the meantime I decide to do some internet stalking in hopes of finding out more about Klaus. When I pull up Google on my computer I draw a huge blank on his last name. The only thing I remember is that it started with an M and he thought I should have some sort of reaction to it which was a bit self-centered in my opinion. 30 minutes later I give up and shut my computer in a huff. “Bad day?” I turn around to see Katherine leaning against the door frame a smirk on her face, but her eyes full of concern betray her. “Oh you know just trying to do some good old fashioned internet stalking.” I answer. “Oh then pray tell who is the lucky recipient of Caroline Forbes’ fickle affections?” Katherine asks plopping down on the couch right next to me. “I remember his first name which was Klaus but not his last name and the weird thing that he acted like I should’ve recognized his last name. It was something like Michaels or-” “Mikaelson?” Katherine finishes for me with excitement in her voice. “Yeah how did you know?” “How could you not know? They literally have a 70 story tall building that you pass by everytime you go to your internship! Here let me show you....” she said, taking my chromebook and searching  _ Mikaelson Law & Co.  _ I see why Katherine as a law student is excited because for the next couple of minutes I read about how Mikael Mikaelson the matriarch of the company came to America years ago and built his company from the ground up. His company handled some of the biggest cases every year and when he died his two sons Elijah and Finn took over the business. I couldn’t find anything about Klaus though. The most recent thing I could find was how Finn was leaving the company. 

I must have looked sad because Katherine asks “Hey everything okay Care?” “Oh yeah it’s just that I was hoping to find a way to contact him not realize he is completley out of my leauge.” “Hey anyone would be lucky to grab a drink with you. Besides you don’t have time to focus on boys when you are kicking cancer's ass” Katherine remarks. “Yeah I guess you are right. When will Elena and Bon be here?” “Both are off sucking face somewhere with their boyfriends and won’t be home for a while. So I was thinking we could order in some Chinese and watch Legally Blonde. You want hot and sour soup with cashew chicken right?” “That sounds great! You’re the best Kat” “I know” she smirks. After dinner, which I only ate about half of, Katheirine asks “Do you want me to go with you to your chemo appointment tomorrow?”  _ Ugh.  _ I almost forgot that tomorrow is my 3rd round of chemo. “Thanks Kat but I think I’ll be fine. Besides you would just sit around for an hour while I have drugs pumped into my blood.” “Are you sure? I know at least with the last two sessions you always felt like crap afterwards.” That was true. After my last two chemo appointments I spent the next day feeling like absolute shit and couldn’t get out of bed. “Yeah I’ll be fine besides you should probably work on that report for your Social Sciences class that you haven’t even started on” “Hey it’s not my fault that  _ “The Good Place”  _ left on a huge cliffhanger!” I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at Katherine and her master skills in procrastination. “Alright if I’m not going with you at least make sure to text me before, during and after your chemo.” “Deal, I’m going to go to bed early and rest up for tomorrow.” I say. “Sounds perfect love ya Care” “Love you to Kat. Night” As I am drifting off to sleep my mind is filled with thoughts of spilled hot chocolate, tousled hair, and piercing blue eyes. 

When I wake up the next morning the top bunk is empty signalling that Bonnie spent the night at Enzo’s place. I step out into the living room, my eyes adjusting to the dandelion yellow of the sun shining across the room. Since today is Thursday Elena and Katherine both don’t have any classes which means they are both off sleeping in their nice warm beds.  _ Lucky,  _ I think as I pack a bag with me to take to the hospital book, phone, power bank, and journal. I arrive at New York Presbyterian Hospitals shortly before 8:30. Before I know it I’m sitting in a recliner with an IV stuck in my arm and a bag of chemicals being fed into my bloodstream. An hour and a half later feeling like a walking bag of shit I am free to go. As soon as I get to the apartment I empty my dinner from last night into the toilet. I shakily walk up and collapse on the couch and take a nap. Next thing I know I’m being gently shaken awake by Elena. “Hi Care, how are you feeling?” she asks. “Better before you woke me up” I say grumply, rubbing my eyes. “I know and I’m sorry but I have noticed that the longer you sleep after chemo the worse you feel when you wake up so I thought why not try waking you up earlier to see how you feel.” “Like I got hit by a truck, but surprisingly I don’t feel like throwing up” I say feeling touched that Elena noticed something like that and tried to help. “I’m glad so with that I think you should have some oyster crackers with just a bit of water” I know that it is no use arguing so I nibble on the small crackers while Elena and I catch up. I tell her about Klaus. Unlike Enzo and Katherine she told me to go for it. “Honestly Care you deserve to find happiness. If that means meeting a hot stranger for a cup of hot chocolate and spending time with him even if it’s temporary, then do it.” “Remember I can’t exactly meet him for hot chocolate because I never set a time” “Who knows maybe he will come there in hopes of meeting you and you could be there waiting for him. We both know you have nothing to do on Saturdays. “Not cool Elena” “Just think about it” she offers, shooting me a small smile before retreating into the kitchen. 

I spend the next day and half alternating between sleeping and throwing up. On Saturday morning it feels like the worst has since passed and I’m sitting on the couch watching old  _ Friends  _ reruns trying not to think about how if I hadn’t been a dunce and scheduled a time with Klaus I could be sitting with him now and drinking hot chocolate. Right when the iconic clapping of the theme song starts my phone starts ringing. I look down at the caller ID to see that Elena was calling. I am immediately concerned Elena only ever texts when she is working, so I quickly grab the remote and press pause before answering. Before the words of a question can form on my tongue Elena’s voice rings out “Caroline you need to get down here now!” “Is everything okay?” I ask concern for my friend evident in my voice. “Oh yeah everything is fine. Though I have to tell you something. Like early this morning right when the shop opened this really cute British guy came in and ordered a coffee and sat down inside. He still hasn’t left yet and he is sitting here looking more and more like a kicked puppy every passing hour. Eventually I had to ask him to leave since the coffee shop was getting crowded. And he said he was waiting for a friend to show up but she never did” Elena is speaking so fast I can barely understand “So?” I ask still very confused. “So! He said his name was Klaus Mikaelson!” I immediately sat up and said “What?!” “You heard me right Care Klaus Mikaelson is here looking just like you described him!” “Keep him there and don’t let him know I’m coming!” I say excitedly ignoring Bonnie’s confused look before running back to my room to change out of my pj’s. “Already on it Care good luck” “Thanks E” I say before hanging up. I decide to wear a simple white dress with a jean jacket and boots. I quickly explain the situation to Bonnie before making my way to the subway. Right at 10:30 I am standing outside the door of the coffee shop. I take a quick peek through the glass door and my heart starts thudding when I see Klaus about to leave. I took one last deep breath before opening the door... 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?


	4. Caroline POV

I step inside the coffee shop with one last deep breath. It takes him a minute for him to spot me and when he does his whole face lights up. I can only assume my face looks the same as I walk forward to meet him. “Caroline! I didn’t even know if you would be here since you weren’t able to get a time out before you took off running.” I let out a nervous chuckle before saying “Yeah I’m sorry about that I got distracted and before I knew it I was running late for class.” “No worries love. I’m just glad you're here.” Klaus smiles. I couldn’t help but blush as I sat down at his table. “I hope I didn’t keep you too long.” I say wanting to know if he would tell me he has been here for the past two to three hours. “Not at all love I was walking around this morning and I thought why not give it a shot.” A sneaky smile spreads across my face  _ two can play at that game  _ I think. “Yeah I was actually just walking around when I thought ‘Hey I could go for a cup of hot chocolate and maybe if I’m lucky I can get the cute guy I met to pay for it’ Speaking of which I should probably go order my hot coc-” “Don’t worry about that love the barista here already has one set to come out for you.” Even though I knew this was Elena’s doing I couldn’t help but ask “How did you know I was coming?” “I didn’t but the barista convinced me to wait for a few minutes while she put a hot chocolate in just in case” I make a mental note to buy Elena and Stefan a dinner later as a thank you. “Well that barista must really know her stuff.” I say trying to hide my smile. When I look back at Klaus he looks a bit somber. “Everything okay?” I ask. “Yeah yeah just is your boyfriend okay with this?” For a second I laugh thinking he is joking but the look on his face tells me he isn’t. “Wait what? I don’t have a boyfriend. Why do you think that?” I ask. “The coffee cup you had the other day had a message scribbled on it saying that they love you.” I let out an amused laugh before saying “Oh gosh no! That was one of my roommates who works here. She is actually the one who is our waiter.” Klaus’s tense expression relaxes and says “So that’s why she was certain you would come.” “Yeah she texted me when you walked in and since I was nearby I ran right over.” To be honest I have no idea why I lied both about how I knew he has been here for hours and the only thing I was doing was watching old reruns of  _ Friends _ . Klaus actually looks thankfully that he thinks that I believe he has only been here for a few minutes instead of a few hours, so I decided to keep up the act. 

Elena comes a minute later with a cup of hot chocolate and a muffin. When she sees me she pretends to be surprised to see me “Oh look I had a feeling she would come!” “It’s alright Elena he knows that we are friends.” “Oh thank god I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep up the act. I don’t excel in acting like you Care. Anyways here is your hot chocolate and I thought I would throw in a muffin on the house” I know the point of the muffin is to make sure I’m eating and I am tempted to refuse but with Klaus here I accept it with a smile. When Elena leaves we start talking and Klaus asks “So I take it you're a drama major?” “Actually, no” I reply “While I do love to act I decided it would be safer to get a degree in Journalism but I hope later on to go back and get a drama minor”  _ If I survive cancer that is  _ I add in my head. “That sounds fantastic. I wish I could do something in the arts but my father wanted me to go into la-” This time I am the one who interrupts him and says “Law” I continue on when I see the confused look on his face “I may have done a bit of internet stalking in hopes of contacting you. You should have seen my roommate's face when I told her I ran into you. She lost her shit because she is actually a law major and admires your father’s whole company” His face darkens at the mention of his father. Before I could ask if he was okay he brushes past it and says “So roommates tell me what that is like? I never really have ever had any.” A smile comes across my face thinking of my friends “Okay so I actually also live with Elena, then there is Katherine the law student, and then my friend Bonnie. We split the rent for a two bedroom apartment near Greenwich Village” “Four people in two bedrooms doesn’t that get a bit crowded love?” Klaus asks. I let out a laugh “We make it work. We have one of those bunk beds where the bottom bunk sticks out like an actual bed plus a cheap pull out in the living room for whenever we have people over. We can’t all be like the people in  _ Friends  _ after all and afford a killer apartment with the income of a chef and a personal shopper.” 

Klaus shoots me a confused look before saying “I have no idea what you're talking about” At first I think he is joking because I mean how can he not know about  _ Friends  _ one of the most iconic television shows of all time. When I realize he isn’t joking I try doing stuff to help jog his memory like the iconic clapping and the famous sayings like “Unagi” and “PIVOT!!” “Come on now you have at least got to have heard of ‘We were on a BREAK!!’” by the end of it Klaus is looking at me like I am speaking Latin. “I am sorry love but I have no idea what you are talking about.” “ _ Friends  _ is like one of the most iconic T.V. shows of all time! It’s about six friends trying to make it in NYC in the 1990's” “Maybe I haven’t heard of it because I’m British?” Klaus offers. “No that’s not it because one of my friends is from Britain and he loves  _ Friends.  _ In fact the two of us dressed up as Phoebe and Joey for the Freshman Halloween party.” “Who?” Klaus asks, still obviously confused. “Two characters from the show. I explain. “Ahh if it makes you feel better I don’t watch that much T.V.” “That makes me feel a bit better, but it would make me feel even better if you started watching it” I say with a small smile. “I’ll look into it love. Why don’t we take a walk and you can tell me more about yourself?” “Only if you tell me more about yourself” I say. “Deal!” he smirks at me before getting up to pay for our coffee and decides to buy me another cup of hot chocolate. I wave goodbye to Elena before walking out the door with Klaus and when he holds my hand I don't pull away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is shorter than normal but that's because I'm planning on posting another chapter in Klaus's POV tomorrow


	5. Klaus POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I was planning on posting this two days ago but I have had lots of school work.

I couldn’t help the smile that was on my face as Caroline and I walked hand in hand in a nearby park. “So where did you grow up?” I asked here. “I grew up in a small town in Virginia called Mystic Falls. What part of England did you grow up in?” she replied. “I grew up in London but I went to school in Oxford.” “Why did your father build his company here then instead back in London?” Now here is the topic I’ve been dreading. My father. I must have had a concerning look on my face because next thing Caroline says “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to” “No it’s fine love my parents divorced when I was a teenager and my father decided he had enough time as a family man and decided to move here to the States where he created his law company.” “I get what it’s like to have absentee fathers” Caroline said with a sympathetic shrug. “He ended up cheating on my mom because he was secretly gay and now he lives in Flordia with his husband and I rarley ever see him.” “I’m sorry about that Caroline nobody should ever have to go through that.” “It’s fine, it is easier now. Besides, there are some upsides to it” she says. “And what might that be?” I ask a bit confused. “Guilt equals money at least to him so he pays for school. That is the only reason why I could go to Columbia otherwise I wouldn’t be able to forward.” 

Thinking for a minute I finally say “No money can make up for the missed time though” Caroline lets out a snort before saying “Ain’t that the truth.” We walk in silence for a minute before all of a sudden Caroline stops in her tracks and says “Hey do you think we could sit down for a minute? These boots weren’t really built for walking” “Sure love” I couldn’t help but notice how she kind of stumbled to the bench before sitting down with a sigh of relief. “So tell me what is being a lawyer like?” “It’s okay I guess” I shrug. Caroline raises her eyebrows and says “Really you are a lawyer whose father started a multi million dollar company and the only thing you can say is “it’s okay I guess’?” “I never really wanted to be a lawyer but even with my father in an entirely different country he thought it would reflect badly on him if his children didn’t become big successful lawyers like him and earn his company even more money.” “Why didn’t you just say no?” she questions. Once again I pause thinking about it. I finally settled on saying “Nobody ever really said no to my father and besides he said if you say no I’ll cut you off from the family inheritance so I didn’t really have a choice” “You do know money isn’t everything right? I live in a shitty ass apartment where the radiator breaks once a week and for the most part I am really happy.” “I don’t know honestly I guess since I grew up with money I didn’t really want to leave it behind.” “I guess I get that. So if you don’t like law why did you join your father’s company?” “I have always been close to my siblings and since we were little children we made a vow to always been there for each other and it only solidified it farther after both of our parents died.” “That’s sweet. I do understand that Bon, Kat, Elena, and I are practically sisters and we always try to be there for each other.” Curious I ask “So how long have you all known each other?” 

Caroline laughs and I silently think it is the most beautiful thing in the world and says “When haven’t we known each other? I met the three of them in preschool and we have been best friends ever since. So if you weren’t some hot shot lawyer what would you do?” “I really enjoy painting actually.” “That’s nice. Are you any good? When I was forced to take art in school the most I could draw was a stick figure.” I was tempted to tell her that I have a painting hanging in a museum in London, but something tells me she wouldn’t take that brag too particularly well. I opt to say “I’ve been known to be an avid painter.” “So then what is your favorite thing to paint?” Without hesitation I answer “True beauty” Then I suddenly find myself staring at her with her golden hair and big blue eyes with shards of sea glass green and I find myself leaning closer. Then just as our lips are about to touch when a far off car alarm goes causing me to pull away and causing Caroline to let a small squeak dropping her hot chocolate cup. “You okay?” I ask her my mind still on our almost kiss. “Yeah I guess I just scare easily though I really should get used to car alarms though because you know it’s New York City afterall” “I’m sorry about your hot chocolate though” I say once again looking down at a spilt cup of hot chocolate. “It’s fine” she chuckles bending down to pick up the cup “Though I’ll admit this time it is my fault that I dropped my hot chocolate not the other way around” I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at how she brought up our first meeting “In my defense I wasn’t looking where I was going” “Of course you weren't! Only a complete psycho would run into somebody on purpose!” Caroline admonishes. “Why would you say that?” I ask thoroughly amused. “Because there are much more appropriate ways to talk to somebody you like for example walking up and saying hi for one” “Well that sounds absolutely preposterous!” I tease. “So you’re telling me if you saw me on the street you would run into me to get to know me instead of walking up to talk to me?” “You said it not me love. Besides can you blame me I bumped into you and here I am having a lovely morning with this stupendous woman and can you at least admit you might think I was a bit creepy if I came up and just started to talking to you after seeing you on the street?” Caroline muses for a minute before saying “I guess I would find it just a touch creepy” Victorious I say “See! I win” “No you don't. The only thing I said is that it would be a bit creepy. I never said that I wouldn’t find bumping into me on purpose creepy.” 

We argue about this a bit more before taking a subway that stops near her apartment building. On the way there we exchange phone numbers and I get to learn more about her like how she has a part time job at a bookstore and is taking an internship at a small company in Manhattan working on their newspage. Soon we end up outside a brick building several stories tall. “So this is me” Caroline says gesturing to the building. Not wanting to leave without scheduling another date I say “Caroline would you like to I don’t grab dinner later this week?” A blinding smile spreads across her face and says “I would love that does Friday sound good?” “Friday sounds perfect love. I’ll text you the details later this week.” I answer before leaning down in hopes of kissing here but much she pulls away and in a rush says “Bye Klaus thanks for the replacement hot chocolate I had a really nice time today.” I try to swallow my disappointment as I watch Caroline walk towards her building, but just as she approaches the door she stops in her tracks and next thing I know she is running towards me before throwing her arms around my neck and kissing me. Instinctively my arms wrap around her lower back in hopes to keep her there. I’m not sure how long we stay like kissing in the middle of the street, but the only thing I know is that it ends all too soon. When we pull apart we lean our foreheads together and Caroline softly whispers “See you Friday Klaus” and walks into her apartment building. As I’m walking down the street I couldn’t help but think  _ maybe New York isn’t so bad after all.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?


	6. Caroline POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys sorry I know it's been a while since I've updated. This week was busy school wise and I had a bad case of writers block. Anyways hope you enjoy!

I couldn’t help the small smile that graced my face as I stepped in the old elevator of my apartment. _I kissed Klaus!_ Just think last week I was throwing up the day after my second round of chemo. _Shit. Cancer._ Then like that my terrific mood evaporators like water hitting the hot pavement. For the most part of the morning I had forgotten about the tumor making its home in my stomach. Besides for the incident earlier where I was getting a bit dizzy while walking with Klaus I felt fine. Thankfully, before my thoughts could wander dangerously far I am interrupted by the soft ding of the elevator. When I walk inside I see Bonnie resting her chin on the back of the couch, her big chocolate brown eyes alight with amusement. “So Care tell me how was your morning?” Trying to manage a tone of indifference I say “It was okay” plopping down on the couch next to Bonnie. “Really? So it was just okay sucking face with a hot ass British millionaire?” I bolt upright and shriek “You saw that?” A teasing smirk spreads across her face “Of course I saw it. I was standing by the window watching you guys when I saw you guys go full on Allie and Noah makeout session right in the middle of the sidewalk!” I giggle and say “You’re a pervert Bonnie Bennet” before throwing a pillow at her. “Not a pervert per say more of an accidental bystander.” “How do you accidentally watch two people kiss?” “I was getting more coffee when I saw you two walking down the street and I wanted to see if things were going well between you too.” I roll my eyes and say “That still makes you a bit of a pervert in my opinion” “Whatever I don’t think I’m a pervert so I’m just going to ask Do you have plans to see him again?” “We have plans for a Friday dinner” I say happily. Bonnie pauses for a minute before saying “I am all for you doing you Care. May I just remind you after your um- diagnoses you told me that dating was off the table for you until you were cancer free.” A grimace spreads across my face and I say “I know Bon it’s not like we are getting married. I will try and make this the last time I see him” “Okay, Care I just want to make sure you know what you are doing.” “Thanks Bon. Now come on let’s see if _Friends_ is still on” 

The rest of the day passes on uneventfully with watching _Friends_ reruns with Bonnie and ordering Mcdonalds for dinner through Postmates once Eleana and Katherine came home and then watching _27 Dresses_ . When the moon was big and opalescent in the night sky my thoughts drifted back to Klaus and I could feel excitement pooling in my stomach when I think of our date on Friday. As I was laying down I couldn’t help but gently trace my lips with the tip of my finger thinking of the way his lips felt against mine and how I couldn’t wait to feel them again. I awoke early next morning so I could get to my job at _Lions, Tigers, and Books, Oh My_ . Luckily, I woke up early enough to the point where I could fix my breakfast and take my meds without having to rush. Just as I am finishing my strawberry jam toast my phone starts ringing and when I look down at the caller ID I see Klaus’s name flash across the screen. Without thinking I answer forgetting the fact that my mouth is still stuffed full of toast. “Hello love, how are you?” is the first thing he says. I try to say “Good and you?” but it comes out muffled so I quickly swallow the toast and say “Sorry about that I was eating breakfast. I’m doing good and you?” “Not too bad just trying to enjoy my last day of freedom before I am sucked into the world of devils in one thousand dollar suits.” I had to repress a snort before saying “You really don’t like being a lawyer do you?” “Not in the slightest but I made a promise to my brother that I intend to keep” “Well that’s very sweet of you” I say. Without a hint of remorse he says “Yes I am” I roll my eyes I can practically hear the smirk in his voice. “Humble much?” I ask smiling. “The humblest” This time I can’t hold in my snort and say “You may want to get that ego in check before you come here Friday I have a very small apartment and I doubt your ego would even fit through the door” This time he is the one who chuckles and says “I’ll keep that in mind love. I know we said Friday but I am dying to see you again and trying the hot chocolate the other day seems to have slipped by mind. I’ll pay” “As tempting as that sounds I have to work today at _Lions, Tigers, and Books, Oh My_ ” “Really? The bookstore you work at has that awful pun for a name? To be honest being a lawyer doesn't sound so bad anymore” “It isn’t that bad! For your information we sell a lot more books than the store across the street named _The Book Nook_ all because of the good albeit cheesy pun” Before he could say anything else though one of my alarms went off. _Shit_. I had to leave very soon if I wanted to make it to work on time. “Hey sorry but I need to leave for work” “No worries love. Talk later?” “Talk later” I affirm with a smile that I am almost certain he could see. Once we hang up I quickly take my medicine for my stomach pain before walking out the door to board the subway. 

When I arrive at the bookstore the only other people there are my manager Brent who is in the storeroom and my coworker Carla. “Hey Care how are you?” Carla asks setting up a new display table. “Okay, does Brent have anything for me to do?” “Nothing besides manning the checkout desk” “Oh okay then maybe I can help you with that display then?” That is when an overly bright smile appears across her face “It’s fine! I don’t want you to tire yourself out!” “No I’m fine it will just take a second. Besides those boxes look heavy” “Really Care I’ve got it” Seeing that she isn’t going to budge I finally give up and walk to the cashier once again irritated that people act like just because I have cancer I’m an imbecile incapable of anything. The rest of my shift passes by uneventfully with me sitting behind the cashiers helping the steady stream of customers check out their books. Once my shift is over I grab a quick lunch at a nearby sub shop before heading to my writing internship at _The Writing Tree,_ a small newspaper business in Queens. By the time I’m done with my internship the sky is a dandelion yellow and the bright lights of the city are shining all around me. When I get back to the apartment Elena, Bonnie, and Katherine are all sitting at our crappy dining table eating a plate of enchiladas. My mouth practically waters at the sight of them but I know if I over stuff myself I could end up getting sick so I resign myself to have one. After dinner I am sitting at my desk in my room working on my paper on the influence of Mark Twain on today’s society when my phone starts ringing. I am expecting it to be Klaus but to my surprise it is my dad. For the most part the only contact I have with my dad is when he texts me to let me know when he has deposited the money I need for school stuff. I couldn’t help but feel a bit apprehensive when I swipe the answer button because I haven’t told my dad that I have cancer. Yes I know I need to tell him but telling him would just be another person that treats me like I’m going to die any second. Hell even my mom treats me differently nowadays. 

My worst fears are confirmed when my dad’s voice rings out getting straight to the point and angrily saying “So when were you going to tell me?” Trying to feign innocence I say “Tell you what?” My dad lets out a tired groan and I could almost imagine him rubbing the bridge of his nose like he does whenever he gets frustrated. “Are you really going to make me do this Caroline?” When I say nothing he says “Why didn’t you tell me were diagnosed with cancer?” “I don’t know I just didn’t see the point considering we almost never speak anymore” “Jesus christ Caroline I don’t care how much we talk like it or not you are my daughter and I deserve to know if you have cancer because you told me not because your mom called me up asking if I have talked to you about it!” Making a mental note to talk to my mom later about the stuff she tells my dad I admit “You’re right dad. I guess that I just didn’t want there to be another person who treats me like I’m a piece of glass.” “I’m sorry to Caroline that you didn’t trust me enough to tell me that you have cancer.” he lets out a pained breath before continuing on “So how bad is it? I hung up on your mom before she could tell me more about it” “Well I have Stage 2 Stomach Cancer and I only have one tumor the size of a golf ball. The down side of that is the position of the tumor is in a dangerous place so they can’t remove it through surgery. That’s why they’re having me do chemo in hopes of making it go away.” “How is that going?” “It’s going okay I have my fourth session later this week and after the sixth they’re going to do an MRI to check on the tumor.” 

There is a beat of silence before my dad says “Does it hurt?” “The chemo itself really only hurts afterwards when I spend the next day throwing up. Really the most painful part is just the everyday stuff. The stomach cramps, headaches, fatigue, etc.” “I don’t really know what else to say besides I’m sorry Caroline. I know you have probably heard this a million times in the past few weeks but if I could switch places with you I would do it in a heartbeat. Is there anything I can do to help you with this?” Part of me wants to ask him to help me pay for this because while my insurance only covers part of the cost I don’t exactly make big bucks as a part time bookstore owner, but my dad is already paying for college. If I asked him to pay for my chemo it would just be too much. As if I am reading my mind my dad says “You know besides paying of course and before you protest this is undebatable. I know I haven’t been the best father in the past and I’m trying to make up for it now.” I want to protest but my dad is just as stubborn as I am and I know it won’t do anything if I try to make him change his mind, so I just say “Thanks dad it means a lot” “Oh honey you don’t have to say thank you after all I am your father and it is my job to protect you. I was thinking I have some vacation days saved up and I could fly out there next weekend and you can show me around the city just the two of us.” Despite the fact that my dad is paying for my college tuition and now my chemo I still haven’t fully forgiven him for abandoning me when I was a little girl. Though hearing the earnest and hopeful undertone of his voice I end up saying “Maybe not next weekend but after my 6 week MRI we can set something up then.” “That sounds awesome sweetie. Now I want you to call me once a week after your chemo to give me an update on your condition.” I manage a “Will do” Before my dad hangs up he says “Remember Caroline I will always love you. Stay safe.” “Love you to dad. Bye.” After we hang up I try to get back to work on my paper but I can’t feeling to emotionally drained from talking to my dad. Instead I opt to go to bed early and fall into a restless sleep. 

The next couple of days pass by normally with classes on Monday and Tuesday. Though I do talk to Klaus who just started at the law firm several times over texts or calls and every minute I spend talking to him the more I dread I feel at the thought of leaving him. My chemo appointment on Wednesday passes by like the other three did with me feeling like shit the next day. When I wake up on Friday I already feel butterflies at the thought of seeing Klaus that evening for dinner. Thankfully, my boss lets me leave my shift early leaving me time to go and get ready for my dinner. I’m asking Katherine who is the only one home which dress looks the best when there is a knock on the door. “Crap! That must be him!” I say worriedly realising I still have to do my makeup on top of picking out a dress. “Don’t worry Care I will talk to him while you finish getting ready and we both know whatever dress I choose you will just choose the opposite because that is just the way you are. So now go on get ready and don’t worry about what dress you choose because you can even make a potato sack look like high fashion.” “Aww thanks Kat!” I say rushing to give her a quick hug before going back to my room to finish getting ready. A couple of minutes later I give myself a satisfied once over in the mirror before grabbing my purse. When I step outside into the kitchen I see Klaus standing there as handsome as ever in an expensive suit. I see his eyes hungirly scanning every inch of my body and I couldn’t help the smirk that takes over my face when I ask him “How do I look?”


	7. Klaus POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys sorry I know it's been a while since I've updated (again). From now on I will post at least one chapter every week more if I have the time. This is the last chapter before we get into the real meat of the story. Enjoy!

Even when I finally I arrive back at my penthouse my mind was still on Caroline and the way her lips felt pressed against mine and how they tasted like hot chocolate and vanilla. Involuntarily my hand reaches for my phone already wanting to text Caroline and see how she is doing, but I know she will probably think I’m crazy since we just parted less than 20 minutes ago. _Jesus christ_ I think rubbing the bridge of my nose _what is it about this woman that has me so enamored with her. It’s not like me to spend this much time thinking about just one girl._ Shaking myself out of my thoughts I decide to go to my studio to paint knowing that I'll be out of time to do much else besides working at _Mikaelson Law & Co._ when I start on Monday. Saturday passes by slowly with me spending the day directing movers to set up the stuff in my office so I can be ready for Monday. Soon Monday arrives and I am getting ready for my first day at work when I get a text from Caroline that says _Good luck on your first day at work!_ I shoot her a quick thank you before taking a quick look at myself in the mirror. I couldn’t help but grimace at my reflection. I _hate suits,_ I think as I readjust my tie. Due to the fact that I am now a part time owner of the company I have to be the first ones to arrive though when I step outside my Upper East Side apartment I realize I have enough time to grab a quick drink, and even though I know it is a long shot I take my brand new black Mercedes Benz and plug in the address to the coffee shop that Caroline goes to in hopes of seeing her. 

I am disappointed but not surprised when I arrive at the coffee shop and see that neither Caroline nor her friend that works there are in the shop. To make sure that this trip wasn’t a total waste of time I decided to order the hot chocolate that Caroline raved about. I take the first sip when I arrive in my car and I suddenly see why Caroline loves this hot chocolate so much it is nice and thick and has earthy undertones of nutmeg and cinnamon. After giving my car to the valet I walk inside the marble tiled lobby to find only a few people milling around. I am sitting in my new office just finishing arranging my files on my computer when Elijah steps in. “Ah Niklaus I am pleased to see that you made it here on time and that you have arranged your office to your liking.” “Yes well is there any reason why you came to see me this morning?” I ask. “I just wanted to make sure you were settled in all right and let you know what you have to do this morning.” Leaning forward in my chair I say “Alright let’s get it over with.” My brother lets out a displeased sigh before saying “Since today is your first day I thought it would be best if you just meet some of our more senior members since they will be the ones you’ll be working with the most along with some of our business partners. Also I have been meaning to ask you about your assistant. Would you like to use Finn’s old one one or would you like to interview some candidates?” I shrug my shoulders and say “As long as they can get coffee and answer phone calls I really don’t care.” Once again Elijah seems displeased with my lack of formality but brushes past it before furrowing his brow and saying “Why are you drinking hot chocolate I thought you hated any drink that wasn’t black coffee or alcohol.” “A friend recommended it to me. She said it was the best hot chocolate she ever had.” Welp this was the wrong thing to say because the second I say the words friend and she crosses my lips a wide grin spreads across his face. “A friend Niklaus or a girlfriend?” he asks clearly amused. “It’s none of your damn business is what it is” I mutter. 

Thankfully, Elijah drops the topic just as quickly as he brought it up and says “Okay so I guess I’ll send in your assistant first. Her name is Vicky and she has been working as Finn’s assistant ever since his old one Marla resigned two years ago.” “Alright send her in.” “Good luck today brother I’ll most likely be back later just to check up on you.” I bite back a sarcastic response and just give him a slight nod before he walks out the door. A few minutes later there is a knock on the door and I say “Come in!” When the opaque glass door opens a woman who appears to be about a year or two younger than me walks in with long auburn hair and is wearing a navy colored pencil skirt with a matching cardigan and white blouse. I see her eyes widen when they see me and I have to resist the urge to roll my eyes.  _ Great another bumbling assistant who will probably try and shamelessly flirt at every available corner.  _ When she doesn’t do anything but look at me I get up and say “Hello love you must be Vicky why don’t you take a seat” and gesture to one of the leather chairs that I bought. Vicky quickly regains her composure and sends me a sly smile probably thinking that I was flirting with her or something before sitting down. ”So would you like me to call you Mr Mikaelson or…” she trails off twirling a piece of her hair around her finger. “Klaus is fine” I say, already regretting not taking up Elijah’s offer to hire a new assistant. “If you don’t mind me asking Klaus I know my old boss and your brother Finn was married. Are you married or seeing anyone?” This time I’m the one smiling when I say “Thank you for reminding I actually have your first task for Friday evening.” Vicky immediately perks up and says “Yes?” thinking that I’m about to ask her out or something and quickly deflates when I say “Make sure my plans are clear for Friday evening because I have a date with a charming young lady that I met last week.” “Anything else?” she asks meakley. “Yes actually on Friday morning go to the best flower shop you can find and pick out the most beautiful bouquet you can find for my date.” “Will do Klaus” she says, her voice significantly less perky than it was before. “Thank you love it was a pleasure to meet you.” I say shaking her hand. “You too. Let me know if you need anything” she says before walking out the door. 

The rest of the day passes by excruciatingly slowly with several meetings with the senior members of the company who for the most part are junior Elijahs. I feel a huge relief when I am finally able to go home but before I could even get to the elevator I am stopped by Elijah. “Here Niklaus I was wondering if you would like to join me for a celebratory drink in my office to commemorate your first official day at the company.  _ Oh why not  _ I think before saying “Why not” Soon we are back in his office drinking an amber colored whisky when Elijah says “Did you say something to Vicky? She was looking rather forlorn when I saw her leaving.” “Not really the only thing I told her to do was make sure my schedule was clear Friday evening for a date and pick up some flowers that same day.” Once again that smile that was on his face when I first mentioned Caroline was back and he says “Oh so there is a girl.” “I never said there wasn't. I just told you that it isn’t any of your business and it still isn’t” Elijah lets out a small chuckle. Irritated, I ask “Do you have a problem with that?” “No no it is just I haven’t seen you this defensive about a girl in a long time. What’s her name?” Just wanting this conversation to be over I say “If you must know her name is Caroline and she is currently a junior at Columbia. That I met when we ran into each other on a sidewalk.” “She sounds lovely,” Elijah says. Not wanting to talk about it more I just shrug my shoulders. Soon we run out of things to talk about so I say my goodbyes before finishing the last of my drink and I walk out into the night. 

Soon Friday arrives and throughout the day I find myself glancing at my watch so often I irritate a client who came to us for help with a divorce settlement. As I walked out of  _ Mikaelson Law & Co  _ I couldn’t help but admire the flowers that Vicky picked out. Beautiful white and peach colored roses with sprigs of baby's breath. For once I am glad that I have to wear suites to work because I am able to go to Caroline’s as soon as I leave work. 10 minutes later I am pulling in front of Caroline’s apartment building. Since her apartment is on one of the upper levels I have to take a rickety old elevator when I arrive outside a juniper green door with 137 in rusted gold numbers and I quickly check my phone to make sure I have the right apartment before knocking. “Come in!” a sharp voice rings out. When I step inside the apartment the first thing I see is Caroline’s friend Elena from the coffee shop. Though I am a bit confused at first becasue her hair instead of being pin straight it is wavy and curly. I get even more confused when she turns around from her computer and says “Oh you must be Klaus.” I am not only confused because we met before but there is also something different about her eyes. Whereas at the coffee shop her eyes where wide and kind where as right now they were looking at me like I was the devil. “You are correct… It’s nice to see you again Elena.” She lets out an amused snort and says “I’m not Elena. I’m Katherine.” I try to form a sentence but I can’t because I’m to confused. Thankfully Katherine must know what I’m thinkin because she says “Elena and I are identical twins.” “Caroline never mentioned that.” She shrugs and says “I figured.” “Where is Caroline by the way?” “She is getting ready. Which gives us time to talk. Back at our home town I was nicknamed the “evil” twin. Want to know why?” 

“Let me guess you didn’t do your homeowork and smoked weed under the bleacers” I say dryly. “That’s part of it. Though another part was the acts of revenge I did to those who hurt my friends. For example in 10th grade I found out Elena’s boyfriend was dating her in hopes of hooking up with me and that Caroline’s boyfriend was cheating on her so I may have spread a rumor that they each had a STD from hooking up with eachother. While I don’t have problem with gay people we lived in a small southern town and you know what thye say small towns small minds, and in the end they both lost all of their friends and somehow ended up getting kicked of the football team.” I just stand there for a second clearly bewildred before saying “What exactly was the point of that story love?” Katherine lets out an irratated huff and says “It means if I ever find out that you hurt Caroline you better watch out because I have oh I don’t know three maybe four people on this phone who are very good about making stuff look like accidents.” Not knowing what to say I just give her a small nod. Luckily before Katherine can make anymore threats I hear heels clicking across the floor and a sweet voice say “So how do I look?” My eyes instanly snap to where Caroline is standing and the only thing I could do was stare at her. She is wearing a snug black cocktaill length dress with cut outs up and down the sides and her wheat colored hair is curled down one side of her shoulder. For a minute I just let my eyes rake up and down her body before saying “You look fantastic love.” “Thank you you don’t look to bad yourself.” Caroline smirks. “Are those flowers for me?” she says gesturing down to the boquet I almost forgot I was carrying. “Yes they are I thought they would look lovley in your home.”I say handing them to her. “Thank you Klaus! Kat would you mind putting these in some water. Katheirne gives a shrug of her shoulders and says “Why not" taking the flowers from Caroline. I turn my attention back to her offering my arm “Shall we?” “We shall” Caroline says smiling and takes my hand before we walk out the door. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?


	8. Caroline POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I know this is a longer chapter than normal but I just couldn't stop writing. This is probably one of my favorite chapters so far. Also I have some questions about this story that would really help me write this story if you answer them. 
> 
> 1\. I think I have chosen wether or not this story will have a happily ever after or a more tragic ending. Though out of curiosity which ending would you prefer to see? If I get a lot of responses for one answer over the other that doesn't mean I will choose that ending. This is just a general consensus to see what you guys think.
> 
> 2\. Do you prefer more fluffy Klaroline or more like hot and heavy Klaroline? This chapter is more on the fluffier side and the next one will be fluffier as well. Also p.s. there will be no smut, but there will be allusions to sex and other stuff.
> 
> 3\. I think I'm going to do this every few chapters but what Klaroline date would you like to see next. Caroline takes Klaus to the amuesment park or Caroline gives Klaus the NYC experience?

I couldn’t help but smile as Klaus walked me out the door. “So where are you taking me?” I ask him once we are outside in the bustling city. “That is a surprise love” Klaus says, shooting me a dimpled smile. I chuckle and say “Okay just promise me it isn’t an improv show at the back of a mexican restaurant.” thinking about the awful date I went on my second week in New York. When I see his questioning look I just tell him “Don’t ask” “So should we hail a taxi or what?” I ask him. “Oh no love we’re taking my car.” “You have a car? And also if you do how are you okay driving it on the right side of the road because I’m pretty sure in England they drive on the left?” “First of all yes I have a car. Why wouldn’t I? Then to answer your second question I forgot to mention that my siblings and I were forced to spend our summers here after my father left so my mother could have a break and while I was here my older brother made me practice driving on the right.” “Ahh okay, but I am still curious about the car though because most people in the city including big business men like you take the taxi or subway.” Klaus just shrugs his shoulders and says “What can I say I just prefer driving to a smelly taxi” I laugh and ask “Okay what car is your one then?” gesturing to the small group of cars lined up in front of my apartment. “That one right there” he says pointing to a slick black car. My draw drops when I look at his car. It is a inky black Mercedes Benz that looks like it is the newest model and without thinking I say “Holy shit that’s a nice car!” I quickly cover my face with my hands in embarrassment before recovering and telling Klaus “I am so sorry it just slipped out!” To my surprise he lets out a hearty chuckle and says “No worries love I am actually quite fond of the car myself.” A sigh escapes my lips when I sit down in the comfy leather passenger seat and when Klaus gives me an amused look. A small blush spreads across my face and I remark “Give me a break! I can’t even remember the last time I was in a car that didn’t have ripped seats!”. Klaus lets out another chuckle “I actually find it quite adorable how much you love this car now come on let’s go”

20 minutes later we pull into a 24 hour parking garage before walking out into the street. “So can you tell me where we are going now?” “Not until we get there love but don’t worry it is only a short walk to where we're headed.” Klaus is right because 2 minutes later we are standing outside a beautiful looking restaurant called  _ Bella Sole  _ which I know from the little Italian classes from high school translates to  _ Beautiful Sun  _ though there is a line halfway out the door. “Uhh Klaus I don’t know if I can wait that long to eat” “Don’t worry Caroline I’ve actually had a reservation here since our date on Saturday we just need to go to the hostess stand.” “Lead the way” I tell him, linking our arms together. The inside of  _ Bella Sole  _ is just as nice on the inside as the outside that is filled with tables in white table cloths with candles lighting up the whole room and fake ivy intertwined with fairy lights secured against the wall. I try to ignore the grunts of irritated couples as we make our way to the hostess stand where a petite woman with olive skin stands writing down the names of a couple before us. “Excuse me miss I believe we have a reservation under the name Mikaelson” “Oh yes right this way” the hostess says in a slight Italian accent and with a smile leading us to a small table in the corner of the restaurant. Soon we are both perusing the menu and I shift uncomfortably looking at the prices and ask Klaus “Hey are you sure this isn’t too expensive Klaus? I mean just a plate of pasta costs $18.” “Oh no it’s fine love I insist.” “Are you sure?” “Positive.” When our waiter who has a name tag that reads Carlos asks for a drink I barely have a chance to say something before Klaus says “A bottle of your finest champagne please with two glasses.” Carlos smiles and says “It would be my pleasure.” I suddenly think about how I’m not supposed to drink that much alcohol during my chemo. 

My face must look weird because Klaus’s brow furrows and asks “Was that all right?” I pause for a second thinking about what to do and I quickly decide that one cheat day couldn’t hurt. “Oh no sorry it’s just been a while since I’ve had champagne.” A minute later Carlos comes back with a frothing bottle of champagne and two glasses “Here you go I’ll be back soon to take your order.” I give him a quick thank you before turning my attention to Klaus who is currently pouring each of us a glass of champagne. “Here you go love” “Thank you” I say, accepting the glass of the bubbling liquid. “Here Caroline I think we should do a toast” “To what?” He pauses for a moment before a small smile spreads across his face and says “How about this to fate? Without fate we wouldn’t have met each other at the coffee shop.” “Alright then to fate” I say and we clink our glasses together. Though I end up teasing Klaus while he is taking a sip of champagne and say “You know I never knew fate meant sitting in the coffee shop for hours while drinking several cups of coffee.” I had to hold back a snort when Klaus coughs on his champagne and says “What is that love?” “Last Saturday when we met up at the coffee shop once Elena learned your name she texted me saying that you had been there for hours waiting for your friend and I quote ‘looking like a kicked puppy’” Klaus just kind of stutters for a minute before I say “Don’t be embarrassed I actually find it quite charming that you waited for me that long, and if it makes you feel better the second I realised I forgot to give you a time and I mentally kicked myself in the ass. Also when Elena did text me I wasn’t out walking around I was sitting in my pj’s watching old  _ Friends  _ reruns when she texted me and once she did I practically tripped over my own two feet trying to get dressed so I could meet you.” 

His face relaxes and he says “While that does make me feel better what is it with you and that t.v. show  _ Friends _ ?” I answer immediately “Because not only is it hilarious but I personally relate to it I mean it’s about 6 young mostly broke adults navigating life in the big city while trying simultaneously trying to find the love of their life-” I cut myself off quckily once agagin feeling an embrassed blush spread out across my face. Then oh dear god I start to ramble “Oh sorry I know that is a really weird thing to say on a first date you must probably think I’m crazy-” Klaus cuts me off with a sly grin reaching across the table to squeeze my hand and say “I don’t think your crazy at all. I personally find you quite charming.” “Really?” “Really.” he affirms. “Well Klaus I must say I also find you quite charming.” A cocky grin spreads across his face and he says “Of course you do I’m Klaus Mikaelson after all.” I roll my eyes and tell him “Here is a little tip about me and most girls in general. We don't like it when guys get too cocky so tread carefully Mr. Mikaelson” “Duly noted, also just out of curiosity, how important is that tv show to you?” I mockingly think for a moment and reply teasingly “So important that if you want a second date you better find a way to start watching it.” “Well in that case I better start looking for a way to start watching  _ Friends _ ” Klaus says along with a slight grin on his face. “Good.” I reply. 

Soon enough I am eating a delicious pasta called  _ cacio y pepe  _ and Klaus asks “So tell me more about where you grew up?” I just shrug and say “Not much else to say besides it was a small town in the Virginia mountains.” “Really? That is all you have to say about the place where you grew up?” “Why are you so curious about where I grew up?” “I just want to learn as much about as you can love. What’s bad about that?” “Okay when you put it like that I guess I have to tell you about Mystic Falls.” I say. “I’m all ears.” Klaus replies sending another one of his dimpled grins that still make my heart swoon. “Alright where to start well Mystic Falls is in the western part of Virgina that was founded in 1860. I don’t know much else about the history of the town. Now it is on to stuff about me. Okay like I said earlier I was born an only child my dad was an accountant and my mom is the town’s sheriff” “Sheriff? Well that must be interesting.” I ruefully chuckle and say “That’s one way to put it. Having a sheriff as a mom made sure she was gone most of the time because even though Mystic Falls is a small town doesn’t mean there isn’t any drama. Though are some perks to it.” “Like what?” “Anytime I had a boy take me out she threatened that if they ever did anything to hurt me she would use them as the station’s new practice dummy for target practice.” As an afterthought I add “Hope that doesn’t scare you” Klaus lets out a snort and says “I may be a bit perturbed if your roommate Katherine didn’t already outright threaten me when I first arrived at your apartment.” I try to bite back a smile but fail so i say “Sorry about that Katherine just likes to look out for her friends.” “No worries love besides I have received more death threats than I remember from my frequent spats with my little sister Rebekah.” I decided that I am done talking about myself at least for the moment so I ask him “So tell me what is it like to grow up with what did you say four siblings?” 

“Yes I do have four siblings. I have my two older brothers Finn and Elijah who is the one I am now working with. Then I have my two younger siblings Kol and Rebekah. Though sometimes I wish I was an only child.” “Why is that?” Klaus ponders this for a moment before saying “They are a handful to deal with to say the least especially Kol and Rebekah whose favorite activity is to annoy the crap out of me and barge into my apartment unannounced.” I let out a chuckle and say “I get that.” “Really I thought you said you were an only child.” “I may be an only child by birth but Elena, Bonnie, and Kat have been like sisters to me since as long as I can remember. That means I’ve also dealt with my fair share of shit when it comes to my friends. For example my house was used for Katherine’s safe house whenever she snuck out to go to college parties, see boys, or really any sort of rule breaking activity because my mom was always at the sheriff’s station.” “That sounds fun.” Klaus says sarcastically. “Oh it was there was one time my mom was home and Katherine climbed in through the window, so I made Katherine take the bed pretending to be me and I slept in my old tree house so my mom wouldn’t find us out in case she came into my room.” “Why would you do that?” Klaus asks completely confused. “Like I said before Katherine is like family to me and families help each other out no matter what even if that means sleeping on a bunch of mushy old sleeping bags.” “Did your mother catch you guys?” Klaus asks. I laugh and say “Thankfully she did not. I did wake up with a pretty sore neck though. It was worth it though because as a thank you she took me out for a thank you for saving my ass lunch.” We spend the rest of the night talking and laughing. 

Soon enough both of our plates are empty and my head feels light and fuzzy from the champagne. After Klaus pays the check we walk down the busy street and he says “Is it just me love or are we completely lost?” I look around for a minute and try to focus on our surroundings and see a bunch of skyscrapers and bright lights.  _ So like every other street in NYC _ “I honestly have no idea where we are” “I thought you have lived in NYC for the past three years.” Klaus says. “Yes that is true but here is another thing to know about me as soon as I get a drop of alcohol in my system I literally lose all sense of direction.” “So what should we do now?” Klaus asks. “Well I mean the parking garage you choose is 24 hours so maybe we can hail a taxi and go from there.” “No.” Klaus says with surprising determination. “Why?” I ask. “Like I said before, love from what I’ve heard about taxis is that they are smelly and diary and-” I cut him off and say “Quit being such a baby come on” taking his hand and dragging him to the edge of the sidewalk. “Alright Klaus here is one of the most cutthroat worlds you will ever experience trying to hail a taxi in the middle of NYC at night.” Klaus lets out a soft chuckle and says “Have you forgotten I am a lawyer Caroline.” “No I haven’t but trust me this will be harder than every case you have ever worked.” “I seriously doubt that love.” “Alright moving past this let me show you how to hail a taxi” “I’m watching” “Okay first you spot your taxi” I say pointing to a taxi inching its way towards us. “Go on” I smile and continue on “Then you step off the sidewalk and stretch out your hand as far as I can” I turn my attention to the taxi when I hear a snicker behind me and I turn around to find Klaus laughing at me. “Why are you laughing?!” I exclaim. “I’m sorry love you just look absolutely ridiculous standing in the middle of the street sticking your hand out as if it was a giraffe’s neck. “Excuse me Klaus I am trying to find us a way home. Would you like to try?” I say somewhat matter of factly. “Apologies Caroline, continue” Klaus says, trying and failing to conceal a smirk. “Whatever” I huff, turning my attention back to the street just in time to see the taxi I was trying to hail zoom past us. “Great, just great.” I mutter stepping back onto the street and walking over to Klaus’s side. “Look, you made me lose our taxi.” I say indignantly. “Don’t stress Caroline I believe I see another one of those yellow death traps just down the street.” Klaus replies, directing my attention a couple of cars down where sure enough a taxi is waiting. 

“Alright this is the one” I say, shaking my hands to get myself pumped up. I get to the street just in time to hail the taxi and when it pulls up I turn back to Klaus and jump up and down excitedly “Look I did it!” Then before I even know what is happening I am being shoved out of the way by a couple who says “Sorry” before stepping into the taxi and driving off. When I look back at Klaus I would laugh at his face which is hanging in an o shape if I wasn’t so pissed off. “See Klaus I told you hailing a taxi is no easy task” “I guess you're right Caroline. Though why aren’t you more upset about those people who stole our taxi?” I shrug my shoulders and say “Sure I’m pissed though I have experienced enough taxi swipings to know getting mad doesn’t help the easiest thing to do is find another taxi.” I pause for a moment to look for another taxi before deflating and realising there aren’t any available and deflating. “And it looks like there aren’t any.” Klaus’s brow scrunches in confusion “What are you talking about? I see several taxis right down there.” I turn around to see what he is talking about and this time I am able to laugh at him because the taxis he pointed at all have dark signs singling that they are currently in use. I laugh even harder when his face screws up even further. “Sorry sorry” I say in between breaths “It’s just that when a taxi sign isn’t lit up it means that it is currently in the middle of a fare. When a scowl appears across his face I put my arm on his shoulder and say “I actually find it quite adorable that you are so clueless when it comes to hailing taxis” This time we are both laughing at me mimicking what he said earlier about me and how much I loved his car. All of a sudden Klaus stops laughing and looks straight at me then he leans down and kisses me. The second his lips touch mine my heart melts and I sink into the kiss even deeper wrapping my arms around his neck. Unlike our first kiss which was quick and wild this one is slow and deliberate. I couldn’t help but notice how his lips tasted faintly of champagne. When we finally pull apart the only thing I see is stars and Klaus whispers “How about we find that taxi love?” The only thing I can do is nod as I unlink my arms from around his neck. We walk in silence hand in hand for a bit as we try to find another taxi just basking in each other’s presence. After about 10 minutes Klaus says “I think I just found us our taxi.” I follow his gaze to where a yellow taxi with it’s sign on driving towards us, but this is obviously a mistake because while I am looking at the taxi I miss the stray beer can on the sidewalk and I trip landing face first on the pavement. 

I open my eyes a few seconds later to find Klaus hovering over me with a concerned look on his face. “Caroline are you alright?” he asks, wrapping his arm around the small of my back and easing me up. “Yeah yeah fine I just took a little tumble” “Are you sure Caroline it looks like you're bleeding a bit.” Sure enough I feel the warm trickle of blood start to inch its way down my forehead. “Huh I guess I am. I can just clean it up once I get back to my apartment.” “No you aren’t. I’ll take you back to my apartment. I have a first aid kit at my house and if you're okay with it stay the night because it's getting late and you can take the guest room.” Before I could even protest he is lifting me off my ground and the second I am standing I am standing on my feet my legs start to wobble still a bit shaken up from my fall and when I look down I see I have also scraped my knees. Though thankfully Klaus is there to catch me and says “Here love let me carry you” “No I’m fine I’m just a bit shaken u-” before I could finish my sentence Klaus is scooping me up hooking his arms under my knees. Thankfully, I am able to quell my steam into a squeak. “Wait Klaus you do know I can walk right my legs are just a bit wobbly from the fall.” “Yes I know but I don’t want you to go falling down to the ground again for what would now be the third time? Honestly Caroline if you want my attention that much all you have to do is ask. There is no reason to hurt yourself to capture my attention you already do it enough with your beauty” 

Without realising it Klaus had started walking down the street still carrying me in his arms and completely ignoring his complintent I say “Okay first of all you were the one that ran into me the first time not the other way around and second I tripped on some beer can some asshole forgot to recycle.” “Whatever you say love” Klaus says, shooting me a smirk. I am about to tell him where he can shove that smirk when I notice a taxi pull to a stop a few feet in front of us. “Wait Klaus, look a taxi” I exclaim happily. “Well look at that we finally found one!” “We?””It was a group effort if I hadn’t been carrying you you might have not seen it. I roll my eyes “Whatever just put me down so we can get to the taxi in time.” “Are you sure you're fine to walk?” Klaus asks, raising an eyebrow. “Yes” I say which I end up regretting because once again I start to waiver the second my heels touch the ground. When I see the  _ I told you so  _ look on his face I tell him “I know I know just let me lean on your arm and I should be fine. “If you say so” Klaus says extending his arm which I wrap my arms around before leaning my head against his arm. We ended up reaching the taxi right before it was about to pull away after dropping off its passengers. After Klaus gives the taxi drive his address I lean my head against Klaus’s shoulder and watch all the buildings and bright lights blur together and I can honestly say I can’t remember the last time I felt this happy. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	9. Klaus POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys I know it has been a while again (for like the third time) since I’ve posted. This time though I really did want to work on this story but I have been having internet problems where I can’t stay connected for very long for the past week and since I am doing online school because of covid school work comes before my writing sadly. Though this week I have no school and hopefully my internet should hopefully be working like normal now, so I have a goal to get two maybe three chapters churned out by Sunday. Anyways I love love love getting comments! They make me so happy and help me work up the inspiration to post faster! Also to anyone who wants to see something specific feel free to comment down below and I will work it into a chapter somehow. One last thing before I leave you to read the next installment in this story I welcome criticism. As a writer I am always striving to improve my work and to those who think there is something I can be doing better feel free to comment that down below any improvements you would like to see as long as they aren’t completely bashing my story I don’t care. Enjoy! ;)

Soon enough the taxi pulls to a stop in front of my apartment building. I turn my head to see Caroline asleep on my shoulder. I couldn’t help but smile as I looked down at her face. Though I frown when I see the dried patch of blood on her forehead.  _ I really have to get that patched I think  _ brushing the hair that had fallen across her face. “Come on love wake up our taxi is here.” “Oh sorry I guess I just fell asleep.” Caroline says sitting up and stretching out her arms. Caroline quickly shows me how to pay for the taxi before wishing the taxi driver a good night before stepping out onto the street in front of my apartment. I couldn’t help but snort when I see Caroline’s eyes go wide as we walk into the lobby. “Okay this just may be the lobby but this may be one of the fanciest places I have ever seen.” “Just wait till you see my penthouse.” “Penthouse? Why doesn't that surprise me?” Several minutes later the elevator doors open up into my penthouse. Stepping out of the elevator I ask “So love what do you think?” “I think I have never felt poorer in my life.” Laughing I tell her “If it makes you feel better every rich person I meet seems like they have a stick shoved half way up their arse.” Relaxing Caroline says “I can attest to that.” “I hope you aren’t talking about me love.” “The jury is still out on that one, but for your information I was talking about somebody from my old town. He was the mayor’s son and we actually dated for a while before he cheated on me with a girl who was in town for the summer.” “I’m sorry Caroline.” “No no it’s fine. To be honest I dodged a bullet because last time I checked he dropped out of college and is living with his mom trying to start his own company. Besides without him I wouldn’t be able to bless you with my presence.” “And you call me a narcissist.” “Whatever.”

I lead Caroline to the big leather couch in my living room. “Sit here and I’ll grab the first aid kit” “You don’t have to tell me twice. They don’t make heels for walking for several blocks before tripping on a beer can some asshole forgot to recycle.” Laughing I walk into my bathroom rummaging under the sink until I find the first aid kit that I am suddenly thankful that Rebekah made me buy. When I walk back into the living room I find Caroline frantically rummaging around in her purse for something. “Are you looking for something?” Caroline lets out a surprised squeak before looking up and stammering “Oh n-no. Well yes I was just looking for…..this!” she finishes triumphantly pulling out a piece of gum. “Is that gum important or something?” “Oh no no. I just have a pet peeve about bad breath” she says avoiding my eyes. I can tell that she is lying but I decide not to push it. “Well then go ahead and have your gum while I clean up that nasty wound you acquired from your clumsiness.” Huffing Caroline crosses her arms and says “For the last time It. Was. A. Beer. Can.” For a second I just stare at her and I can’t quite help but think how adorable she looks with her arms crossed and an irritated look on her face framed by strands of her wheat blonde hair. “Whatever you say love now, come on lean forward so I clean that nasty bump on her forehead.” “Alrighty doc patch me up.” Caroline smiles leaning forward. I rummage through the first aid kit I pull out an alcohol swab and tell her “Be careful this is going to sting a bit’ “Don’t worry I’m tougher than I look.” Laughing, I say “I don’t doubt it for a second.” I clean the scratch on her forehead first and when I finally have all the blood cleaned off the only thing that is left is just a small cut. I repeat the same process on her scraped knees cleaning them up. “So give it to me straight doc will I make it?” Caroline asks, feigning apprehension. “The good news is that you’ll live.” “And the bad news?” “It’s too dangerous for you to go home alone so I recommend staying the night with your devilishly charming and handsome date.” Rolling her eyes Caroline says “As fun as that sounds I really should be getting home soon.” “Oh come on love I promise I’ll make it worth your while.” Caroline replies “And how would you do that?” “It’s a surprise.” “Consider me intrigued.” “Well the surprise I have planned I was going to show you on our next date but something tells me I should show you it tonight.” “Second date? A bit cocky aren’t we?” “What can I say I try and hope for the best.” “Alright fine I’ll stay the night. This surprise better be good but first let me text one of my friends to let them know I’m not coming home tonight before they send out the search parties.” Caroline says, pulling out her phone and sending a quick text from her phone. 

“Okay just texted Katherine so now what is this huge surprise?” A smile spreads across my face and I say “Be patient, love it’s going to take a minute.” “Alright if that’s the case it’s going to cost you. You wouldn’t happen to have anything sweet around that I could have would you? Like ice cream? Yogurt covered pretzels?” Thinking for a minute I say “I believe I might have some ice cream in the freezer why?” “Really! Can I have some?” “If you want to sure but I only have one of the worst ice cream flavors ever.” Quirking her eyebrow Caroline says “If it is one of the worst flavors then why do you have it?” “It’s for my brother Kol. Since he is practically a child his favorite flavor is cake batter ice cream.” I expect her to wrinkle her nose in disgust but her eyes actually light up and she exclaims “cake batter ice cream! That is my favorite flavor! But wait I can’t have it because it’s your brothers.” “It’s fine I actually have the whole freezer filled with it so he doesn’t whine whenever he drops by unannounced. You can even eat out of the carton if you want.” “Really? Don’t I feel special.” “What can I say I really like you Caroline.” “Well then I really like you to Klaus. So where do you keep the silverware so I can eat bucket loads of cake batter ice cream?” “All of my silverware is in the drawer to the left of the refrigerator.” “Perfect I guess I’ll be back in a minute and you better have my surprise ready.” Caroline says shooting me a bright smile before walking off in the direction of the kitchen. When I finally hear her moving around in there I grab the remote for the t.v. and quickly pull up the surprise I bought the other day. 

Caroline comes back a minute later with a pint of ice cream and a spoon in her hands “Alright so what is this surprise that was worth me spending the night here?” Smiling I tell her “Look up at the screen love.” I watch as she turns her head to my t.v. screen and I let out a chuckle when her eyes go wide when she sees the fact that I bought the entire series on  _ Amazon Prime Video _ . “Wait did you seriously buy the entire series of  _ Friends _ ?” I just give her a simple “Yes.” “But but why?” Caroline asks her eyes wide with excitement and confusion. I shrug my shoulders and tell her “You talked about it so much that I thought why not give it a shot. Besides it was only like $130.” “Only $130? That is like almost an entire week’s paycheck for me! This just makes me feel guilty.. I I mean you took me out to this fancy dinner which I could never afford and now this it just it…” I can see her start to panic so I grab her shoulders and tell her “Okay love now just take a deep breath.” Once I see her breaths evening out I continue on “First of all dinner was my pleasure. It was our first date and I wanted to make a good first impression and second buying this t.v. show you like  _ Friends  _ is a win-win situation.” Having composed herself Caroline asks me “Oh? Why is that?” Smiling I say “If you want a second date having a t.v. show here that you like means I get to spend more time with you and after said second date anytime you find yourself desperately missing me you have a perfect excuse to come and see me.” “Oh alright but next time you talk about how perfect you are I will literally murder you with this spoon and next time we go out I’m paying.” “The only thing I heard is that I’m getting a second date.” Carolien rolls her eyes for what must be like the twentieth time that night “Alright yes you are getting a second date. We can work out the details later and I’ll make good on that promise of murdering you with this spoon if you say anything about how perfect you are. Now with that out of the way it’s time to shut up and watch one of the greatest shows of all time. Make sure you pay attention because I guarantee you your life will never be the same.” As I press play I look over at Caroline with her eyes wide with excitement shoveling that god awful ice cream into her mouth and her smooth skin lit up by the glow of the t.v. I think  _ she is right, my life will never be the same. _

We watch  _ Friends  _ late into the night and I quickly realize why Caroline loves the show so much I often find myself laughing at the littlest things. Though I often find myself looking over at Caroline and the way she laughs at Joey who I soon learn is her favorite character or the way she would elbow me when she caught me staring at her. At one point I remark how she looks quite silly when she claps along to the theme song every single episode which I absolutely refuse to do and that comment earns me an empty ice cream pint to the head. Immediately afterwards I corrected myself to say “You look cute when you clap your hands to the theme song.” Caroline lets out a birdsong laugh “That’s better.” As she settles back down into the couch it scares me how quickly her laugh has become one of my most favorite sounds in the world. I’m not sure what time it is when I hear a loud snore coming from my right side and I look down to see Caroline once again asleep on my shoulder. I quickly check the time on my phone as quietly and as gently as I can and read the numbers  _ 4:27 a.m. _ as they flash across my screen. I decide to turn off the t.v. before laying Caroline’s head down as gently as possible on the couch as I get up and go get the guest room ready for her. Once I have her room ready I tread silently back into the living room where Caroline is thankfully still asleep on the couch so I gently pick her up in my arms once again surprised at how light she is and carry her back into the guest room. When I set her down on the covers she stirs for a moment and I think she is going to wake up but her head flops down and she murmurs something nonsensical. I let out a soft chuckle and pull the covers over Caroline before pressing a kiss to her forehead.  _ “Goodnight Caroline”  _ I whisper softly and walk out the door. When I am finally in my own bed I suddenly realize that for the first time since I can remember that when I invited a woman into my apartment I had no ulterior motives. The only thing I wanted to make sure of is that Caroline was happy. As my eyelids get heavy I think  _ My god I have known this woman less than two weeks and she has managed to entiley bewitch me _ but what surprises me even more is the fact that I couldn’t care less.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?


	10. Caroline POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys here is Chapter 10! It is probably one of the longest ones yet as well as one of my favorite ones so far! I want to try and upload at least one more chapter by Sunday and it will be in Caroline’s POV again. I know I try to switch it up for every other one but I feel like the next one will make more sense in Caroline’s POV. Though I am curious what POV do you like better? Anyways enjoy and comments are always welcome! Enjoy!

I’m not sure what time it is when I finally wake up but soft beams of sunlight are streaming through the cracked blinds of a window. I slowly sit up in bed and for a second my eyes take a second to adjust to my surroundings through a post-alcohol haze. Once my head has stopped buzzing I can clearly make out my surroundings and then I realize I have no idea where I am. I quickly retrace my steps in my head.  _ Okay I went out to dinner with Klaus and while trying to hale a taxi I tripped over a beer can and hurt my head. Afterwards Klaus took me back to his apartment so he could patch me up and afterwards he wanted me to stay for a surprise. The surprise was how he bought the entire series of Friends for us to watch so I stayed and he told me I could take the guest room. _ I look around to confirm my thoughts and based on how the room is bare besides the bed I am sleeping in a dresser with a mirror and a t.v. and the fact that I am completely alone it is safe to say I am in the guest room. Though I don’t remember going in here in fact the last thing I remember is the  _ Friends  _ episode where Monica cooks for a stoned guy. I decide that I should probably get out of this room and find Klaus. When my feet touch the carpet surrounding the bed I quickly look around for my heels. Once I find them I grab them and make my way out the door. 

I gently open the door trying to make as little noise as possible and when I step out I have to stifle a laugh. Klaus is sitting at his island reading a newspaper with what looks like a steaming cup of tea in a teacup wearing something similar to the day I first meet him. I must have not been very successful at stifling my laugh because Klaus looks up from his newspaper and smiles at me “Caroline you’re up. How did you sleep?” “I slept well. Although I have to say you look very British there sipping your tea and reading that newspaper which I haven’t seen anyone read one in like ten years.” Letting out a throaty chuckle Klaus says “What can I say love I’m old fashioned.” “Also I am afraid to ask but how did I get into the guest room last night?” “Well while watching  _ Friends  _ you fell asleep on my shoulder and I thought you would be more comfortable if you woke up in a bed instead of on the couch.” I can feel an embarrassed heat blooming across my face and I let out a nervous laugh “Sorry about that I guess my body tries to get as much sleep whenever it can seeing that I am a broke overworked college student.” “Oh no worries Caroline it was the right thing to do.” “Well still I appreciate it....” I suddenly feel a rumbling in my stomach. “Hey you wouldn’t happen to have anything here for breakfast here would you? Now that I am up and moving I just realized how hungry I am.” “Sorry love but I don’t think I have anything to eat.” 

“Really? You have a freezer full of ice cream pints for your brother but you don’t have anything here for breakfast.” He shrugs his shoulders “What can I say I’ve never been a big fan of breakfast. Besides, even if I was I wouldn’t even have the time considering I am now a part time manager of a big law firm.” “Well that sucks I was hoping I could convince you to fry me up some hashbrowns.” I say jokingly. Klaus’s brow furrows “hashbrowns? What are those?” For a second I think he is messing with me but I soon realize that he isn’t. “You gotta be kidding me! You haven’t tried or even known about hashbrowns! They are like one of my favorite american breakfast items!” “Well Caroline I don’t know if you know this but I’m not exactly an American.” Klaus remarks sarcastically. I let out an annoyed huff “Yes I know but I thought since you said you spent summers here with your father he would have either cooked or taken you out someplace that had hashbrowns.” “First of all my father never cooked. He had cooks that would cook us an English Breakfast and whenever he would take us out it would be to some fancy place that I couldn’t even pronounce the name of.” I frown for a minute but then an idea pops into my head “You know maybe I can take you out on that second date I promised last night and show you one of my favorite breakfast places here in the city.” “I would love that.” Though the smile suddenly fades from my face and when Klaus sees this he asks “What’s the matter, love?” “I just realised I don’t have anything clean to wear and I don’t know I just hate going out in public in dirty clothes.” Klaus just sits there for a minute before he says “I have an idea!” Then he walks out of the kitchen with no explanation and straight into the guest room I stayed in. Klaus comes out a minute later carrying out a small stack of clothing and handing it to me. “Here these are some clothes my sister Rebekah left here and wanted to return because the sweater was quote on quote ‘out of style’ ”. You guys look roughly about the same size.” 

Looking down I see a soft sweater from some fancy sounding Austrian brand that I never heard of and a pair of Levi jeans. “Wait won’t she notice that her $300 clothes are missing that she wants to return?” “Honestly probably not. To Rebekah that is probably not enough to buy a new purse.” Without thinking I say “Wow your sister sounds like a snob.” I try to back track but to my surprise Klaus laughs “You don’t have to apologize Rebekah is quite a snob but nothing compared to my brother Elijah.” “Alright but still that doesn’t make me feel better about wearing another woman's clothes without their permission. That is like breaking rule #3 of the universal girl code.” Klaus once again lets out a chuckle “Okay tell you what you wear these clothes and if my sister ever finds out and gets mad you can just give them back.” I bite my lip thinking for a minute before saying “Alright fine. Where’s the bathroom?” Klaus points out the nearest bathroom and I go in to change. When I get in the bathroom it takes a minute to get out of my dress after I lock the door. Soon enough I am wearing the cute white off shoulder sweater that Klaus gave me that is probably the soffit thing I have ever worn and the pair of Levi’s skinny jeans that I could easily fit into which is a huge boost to my self esteem. On my way out I use my hands to wash my face and hell even the soap Klaus has makes me feel poor. Thankfully, I don’t have to worry about my shoes not matching because black heels go with almost anything. 

When I step outside of the bathroom I see Klaus waiting by the elevator that opens into his apartment and he shoots me one of his dimpled smirks that sends my heart racing. “You look beautiful Caroline.” A pink blush spreads across my face “Thanks you don’t look too bad yourself.” “I know.” I just roll my eyes at his cockiness which is now not even a surprise when he talks about himself. “Are you ready to go love?” “Yeah hold on, let me grab my purse” I reply walking over to the couch where I left my purse last night and folding up my dress from last night as small as I can before stuffing it in my purse. “Alright now I’m ready” I smile and walk over to him and grab his hand. Once we are inside the elevator Klaus asks “So where are we going?” “It’s a surprise.” “Oh alright.” We talk about a bunch of things on the long way down to the lobby but as we are getting closer to stopping a thought suddenly dawns on me “Wait  _ shit _ we left your car in the parking garage after we got lost in the city that I have literally lived in for three years.” “Relax Caroline I didn’t forget about the car. I looked up the directions to the restaurant we went to and found the nearest 24 hour parking garage. I’ll go pick it up after you take me to this surprise restaurant where we can try these hashbrowns.” 

We arrive down in the lobby a few moments later and now that my mind isn’t suffering post alcohol trouble it looks even fancier than I remember. While we are walking towards the revolving doors I catch a few women giving me dirty looks. It takes me a minute to realize that they are jealous that I am with Klaus. I even catch one middle aged woman who has a wedding ring on her finger looking at me with envy and instead of shying away I look every single one of these women in the eye. Once we finally make our way through the lobby I look around the street and am relieved to see several available taxis zooming by. I turn to look at Klaus and say “So here is hailing a taxi take #2.” before stepping off the curb and stretching my arm out as far as I can. Unlike last night I am able to flag down a taxi and a few moments later one pulls up to the curb. Looking back at Klaus triumphantly I exclaim “Look! See I told you I knew how to hail a taxi!” “Yes yes love nice job on hailing a taxi without falling down this time.” I roll my eyes as we sit down in the taxi and tell our driver the address. About 10 minutes later we pull up to one of the few  _ Waffle Houses  _ in New York City. As Klaus looks the building up and down and most likely smells the cigarette smoke from the last break shift of a  _ Waffle House  _ employee he asks “What’s  _ Waffle House?  _ “You’ll see.” 

The smell of grease hits my face as soon as we step in. I look around and see only one family of three sitting at the back.I ask Klaus “Would you like to sit at a booth or the counter?” “A booth is fine.” A moment later we are sitting at one of the many booths lining the restaurant and I start looking over the menu when Klaus finally asks “Okay what are these hashbrowns?” “They are delicious bits of shredded potatoes fried on a flat top stove that you can get mixed with all sorts of toppings.” “And you like those?” “Yes I love them they are fantastic! What are you going to order?” “How are there biscuits?” I shrug and tell him “I think they are pretty good better than most Mcdonald’s biscuits that's for sure.” “What’s Mcdonalds?” Klaus asks. For a minute I just stare at him, my mouth hanging open and then I just stammer, not completely sure what to stay. While trying to form a coherent sentence Klaus just starts laughing “Sorry I just couldn’t resist the look on your face was priceless. It takes me a minute and I start laughing too “Okay but for real if you didn’t know about Mcdonalds I would probably be walking out that door right now.” “Well it’s a good thing I do then, but since you say these biscuits are good here I’ll just get some biscuits.” I quickly protest “Oh no you are not coming to Waffle House just to order biscuits. Since I am paying I am going to order for you and show you a real American breakfast.” Before Klaus can protest a waitress with straw brown hair and a raspy voice comes over to take our order. He orders a black coffee to drink and I order a coke. A small voice in my head tells me not to do it because I already had alcohol last night but I decided one more cheat day couldn;t hurt. 

“Alright first of all we would like a large order of hashbrowns covered and would it be possible to add some like chopped up bacon to that?” “Sure for about a dollar extra.” “Perfect then after that he would like the All-Star Breakfast, eggs sunny side up, and sub country ham for bacon. Then I would like a ham and cheese omelet, a side of bacon, and a country ham biscuit please.” “All right sweetheart would you like anything else?” “Would it be possible to get three waffles to go? I don’t want them now but if you could bring them towards the end that would be great.” “Sure thing sweetheart I’ll have your breakfast right out.” When I turn around Klaus has a confused expression on his face. “What?” I ask. “What did in the hell did you just order for me?” Laughing I tell him “Relax. I basically ordered you the  _ Waffle House  _ sampler with all of their best items.” “That tells me nothing.” “Just trust me. Okay?” “Okay fine” he grumbles “But if I don’t like it you’re going to have buy me something else.” “Deal.” A minute later our waitress comes back with my coke and Klaus’s coffee. “Here you go darlings. Your hash browns and omelet should be out in a minute.” I tell her “Thank you” before taking a sip of my coke and I let out an embarrassing sigh at the taste of it. I hear Klaus chuckle. “What?” I ask incredulously. “Nothing, it's just you Americans and your soda.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” “It just means that while us British may be known for our love for tea you guys are known for your excessive love of junk food. I mean look at you your drinking a soda at 9:00 a.m. in the morning!” I open my mouth to protest but I can’t think of anything to say so I settle on ”Whatever” Thankfully our food starts arriving next. 

The first thing our waitress sets down is a steaming plate of hashbrowns that are covered with bubbly cheese and sprinkles of bacon and after that she sets omelet. “There you go your other stuff should be out in a minute.” Once she walks away I look at Klaus with a grin on my face ”Ready to try one of the best things known to man?” “These better be good considering how much you are building them up.” “Trust me they are.” We each take a fork and dig in and the small little crunch sound the fork makes as it breaks through the top layer is music to my ears. The hash browns are just the way I like them. The cheese is bubbly and stringy as I pull out a bite and there are perfect little bites of bacon sprinkled throughout. The hashbrowns taste perfect and I almost choke on them by laughing when I see Klaus’s face. His eyes are wide and his fork is clenched in his hand. I quickly use a napkin to wipe my mouth and I ask “So do you like them?” Klaus quickly swallows and responds “These are perfect! Why haven’t I ever had these before?!” “To be honest I have no idea, but I am glad that you like them so much!” “I don’t just like them, I love them! Thank you Caroline for changing my life!” “It was my pleasure!” Though before we can eat more hashbrowns two waitresses come over carrying the rest of our food. Our original waitress says “Okay which one of you had the All-Star Breakfast?” Klaus raises his hand and the waitress sets down his waffle, grits, toast, eggs, and country ham. Then they set down my country ham biscuit and my bacon. 

When they leave Klaus asks me with a completely serious look on his face asks “What the bloody hell is this?” Holding back my laughter for like the fifth time that day I tell him “Well that is a waffle because you know it’s called  _ Waffle House _ , those are grits and it is basically boiled cornmeal, those are sunny side up eggs which are basically fried eggs, country ham is basically a thick cut ham, and I seriously hope you know what toast is Klaus.” Klaus rolls his eyes “Yes I know what toast is Caroline. Although may I ask why couldn’t I get bacon instead of country ham.” “Because I’m from the south and no way in hell am I going to be seeing someone who hasn’t at least tried country ham.” “Oh alright.” he says taking his knife and cutting off a piece of country and ham and sticking it in his mouth “Happy?” “Very” I reply eating my omelet. As he samples a bit of everything I ask “So what do you think?” “This is actually really good love. I especially like this waffle. Though I did wish I had some bacon.” “Well I wish I had some waffles. So I say you give me some of your waffle and I give you some of my bacon. Do we have a deal?” I ask stretching out my arm. “We have a deal” Klaus affirms shaking my hand. We spend the rest of our meal talking and laughing, but I have to monitor how much I eat so I don’t get sick.  _ Shit. _ I completely forgot about my medicine that I need to take every morning. I quickly try to think up of some excuse so that I can be alone to make my medicine but the gods must be smiling down upon me because Klaus gets up from his side of the booth “Here I have to go the bathroom love. Can you tell me where it is?” I quickly point out the restroom in the back of the restaurant. Once I know he can’t see me I rifle through my purse and pull out my pill bottles which I am so thankful that you brought with me and quickly find and swallow my morning dose. 

I just barely get all my pill bottles back in my purse when Klaus gets back to the table. I’m sure I look quite flustered because Klaus’s brow creases with worry “Are you alright Caroline?” I shrug it off and smirk at him “Yes I’m just trying to think of how best to convince you to let me have the rest of these hashbrowns.” “All you have to do is ask.” “Alright then can I have the rest of these hashbrowns?” “No.” “What?! You just said alls I have to do is ask.” “I never said I would say yes.” “You jerk!” I laugh, throwing a wadded up napkin on his head. Soon Klaus joins in on my laughing and says “Now before you throw anything else at me I’ll give you the rest of the hashbrowns if you go out on a date with me later this week.” I pretend to mull it over for a few moments and say “Well on one hand I think my husband Tom Holland would have a problem on that but on the other hand I love love LOVE these hashbrowns so we have a deal.” “Perfect would Wednesday work?” I think for a minute and say “Yeah actually Wednesday would be perfect. I don’t have any work or school. Though I thought you had work?” “Wednesday is actually one of my days off.” “Okay then Wednesday it is.” I say with a smile “Maybe you can show me around the Met” I add as an afterthought thinking that since he liked art he has been. “I actually haven’t been to the Met love.” “Really? What about the Statue of Liberty?” “Nope” “Central Park?” “Are you kidding me?” “Alright we are going to change that! On Wednesday I’m going to take you on a tour of NYC with a mix of tourist attractions and my own favorite spots. Okay?” “Sounds perfect” “Good now let me finish these hashbrowns.” I say happily. Right as I am about to finish the rest of the hashbrowns our waitress comes up “Are you guys ready for the check?” “Yes actually. I would also like a to go box for my omelet and I would appreciate it if you could maybe fix those waffles to go that I ordered earlier?” “Of course sweetheart it might take a while because we are going to have to make some fresh batter.” “Oh that’s fine we’ll just wait here.” “Thank you I’ll be back with your check in a minute.” “Thanks.” “It’s my pleasure.” 

Klaus then says “I’m surprised you ordered three waffles love I don’t think I could eat another bite.” “There not for me they are for my friends who would kill me if I didn’t go to _Waffle House_ and bring them back anything. _Waffle House_ is kinda our thing.” “Oh really?” “Yeah back where we grew up we only had the _Mystic_ _Grill_ plus two or three other mom and pop shops. Though in the next city over we had a _Waffle House_ , _Mcdonalds,_ and a _KFC_ and that was about it. Every year on the first day of winter break all three of our families would all drive down there and have _Waffle House_ for dinner. Then me, Bonnie, and the twins would have a sleepover at one of our houses. Once we all moved to NYC for college we thought there wasn’t a _Waffle House_ but one night where we all coincidentally had huge assignments due the next day even though we didn;t go to the same college as we were walking around the city at _1:00 a.m._ trying to find a 24 hour diner because we were hungry that wasn’t populated my creeps. At one point we still being new to the city took the wrong subway and got lost. We were so scared that we would get jumped; we were all walking with our arms linked. Then all of a sudden a guy runs up and steals Katherine’s purse so she starts chasing after him and we follow. She is eventually able to tackle him and they scuffle for a minute, and after several colorful threats and punches from Katherine and the guy realizing he was outnumbered gives up and runs off. At the point we were all just ready to give up and go home, but just about as I was about to call a taxi Elena starts jumping up and down like she just won the lottery and says “Guys look up!” and we all look up and see this _Waffle House_ that had just opened last week, so we all start jumping up and down like crazy people and go inside to work on our assignments for almost the entire night. Afterwards we all got A’s on our assignments and ever since we all come here whenever one of us has a huge paper or test or something.” “Wow that is quite the story.” “Yeah I’m sorry.” “Oh no no don’t be sorry Caroline. I actually found the story quite entertaining. Though I will see the more I here about this Katherine the more terrifying she becomes.” I let out a snort and say “Ain’t that the truth. I actually became friends with Elena first and Kat threatened that if I became Elena’s new best friend she would fill my backpack up with sticks.” “Really?” “Really it terrified the shit out of me I was only five years old. Though thankfully I was spared from her wrath but Clara Brown wasn’t so lucky.” “Whose Clara?” “Oh some girl that Lena was friend with for two weeks.” 

A minute later our waitress comes up and hands me the check and says “Your waffles should be out in a minute. Just feel free to take the check to the hostess stand whenever your ready.” “Thank you have a great day.” “You to sweetheart.” Taking a look at the check I see the bill says  _ $46.78 _ I am suddenly thankful that I picked up that extra shift at the bookstore the other week as I start to rifle through my purse looking for my wallet. I put some stuff out on the table. My apartment keys, tissue pack, emergency makeup, and a piece of folded up notebook paper. Just as I find my wallet I hear Klaus ask “What’s this?” My heart drops when I turn around and see a piece of paper I know all too well. At the top of the paper in big glittery letters reads  _ Caroline Potens Forbes’s Bucket List _ . “No no no please don’t read that!” A devilish smirk spreads across his face as he pulls the paper as far away as possible and starts reading the list “Let’s let’s see what are Caroline Forbes’s hopes and dreams? Oh I like this one  _ ‘Wipe Ally Carter’s ass in soccer!’  _ looks like you haven’t done that yet. Ooo I love this one  _ ‘Win Miss Mystic Falls’ _ okay so you accomplished that now I have to ask, what is is Miss Mystic Falls?” “It’s nothing” I say trying to but no avail to grab the paper back from him. What I am most worried about him seeing is the more embarrassing stuff I wrote when I was younger like “Oh my I really love this one dance with a cute British guy. Honestly if you wanted to dance me all you had to do was ask” Like that. I mentally curse myself for trying to revise my bucket list after my diagnosis and try to recover and say “Yes I wrote that when I was like 13 for your information. It doesn’t have anything to do with you I just happened I was going through a  _ One Direction _ phase at the time.” “Sure sure whatever you say Caroline.” 

I barely have time to protest when Klaus gets up and walks over to the jukebox puts some money in and punches something in. The song  _ “Come a Little Bit Closer”  _ by  _ Jay and the Americans  _ comes on over the speakers. When Klaus gets back to my table and extends his hand I ask a hint of panic seeping into my voice “Uh Klaus what are you doing?” “Helping you fulfill something on your bucket list love. Last time I checked I am very British and very cute.” “But why in front of all these people?” “Why not?” “because it’s it’s embarrassing.” “I thought you were an actress” “Yes but that’s different!” “How?” I try to think of an answer but I can’t so Klaus says “Come on love live a little!” “Fine.” I say reaching out and grabbing his hand. I barely have time to stifle a squeak when Klaus pulls me out onto the line on the floor. We quickly fall into a synchronized dance that is mainly filled with swaying and twirls while staying near our table. About half way through the dance and with the world seeming like it is miles away I ask “Did you choose a song by a band with American in their name on purpose?” “I thought you would appreciate the irony.” “Your right I do. May I also say you are quite a good dancer.” “Why thank you if you think this makes me seem like a good dancer you should see me ballroom dance.” “Ballroom?” I ask laughing. “My mom made me and all of my siblings take dancing classes and learn all of the classics like the foxtrot.” “Here I thought I had it bad when my mom forced me to join the soccer team.” As the song is about to end Klaus says “Are you ready for the big move?” “What big mov-” I cut off my Klaus hooking his arm around my waist and lifting me up and then spinning me across the room. By the time he sets me down and the song ends I am giggling like a maniac “So what do you think love?” “I think you are an excellent dancer Mr. Mikaelson” I say forgetting about the people around us and pulling him for a kiss. The kiss is all too short but so sweet as his hands wrap around the small of my back and leans forward into the kiss his lips taste like coffee and syrup. When we pull apart the workers and the customers who came in while we were eating start clapping and whistling. I blush once again and do a faux curtsey and Klaus does a mock bow. 

We both collapse into the same side of the booth laughing. Klaus turns around and asks me “So how was that for crossing something off your bucket list?” “It was epic,” I say turning around and kissing him once more. I turn my attention back to my bucket list and pull out a pen to cross off  _ “Dance with a cute British Guy’  _ ” on my bucket list. Klaus looks at it with me and says “You have an interesting middle name.” I sigh “Yeah I know according to my mom it means powerful in-” “Latin” he finishes for me. “Yeah how did you know?” “Along with dancing my mom wanted us to be well versed in the world and forced us to learn some Latin.” “That sounds boring.” “It was.” We laugh together for a few seconds and as we are laughing I realize how ironic it is that my middle name means powerful yet I have Stage 2 Stomach Cancer. My mood dampens quite a bit when I am reminded of my condition. Thankfully, I am quickly distracted by Klaus saying “I’m surprised.” “About what?” “Most bucket lists I hear about always have something like ‘Travel the World!’ on them but yours has nothing of the sort.” “Oh yeah well I wanted my goals to be realistic and traveling the world seems quite unlikely for a girl from a small town in Virginia.”  _ “And who has cancer”  _ I add slintley. “I don’t think so.” “Really?” “Of course Caroline I may have only known you for a week but I can tell you're smart, beautiful, full of light. Tell you what if you think that seeing the world is impossible for you, think of the three places you want to go to the most.” I think for a minute places flashing through my mind Greece. Spain, Rome, and about fifty others. “I can’t.” I tell Klaus “There are just too many places to go.” “Okay then I’ll tell you my favorite three places I’ve been.” “You’ve traveled the world?” “Oh of course we have had summers in Portugal, winters in Switzerland, spring breaks in Greece,..” I interrupt him, “Not really helping Klaus.” “Oh sorry love. Let me tell you my three favorite places I’ve been are Rome, Paris, and Tokyo .” I think about it for a moment: the Colosseum in Rome with delicious pizza and gelato, the Eiffel Tower in Paris and decadent crepes, and finally the streets of Tokyo light up at night so similar and yet so different to Times Square. “That’s perfect!” I exclaim. I quickly grab a pen and write on my bucket list  _ “Visit Rome, Paris, and Tokyo.”  _

The waffles for my friends arrive soon after that and Klaus ends up paying much to my protests. I am able to quickly hail a taxi. When we settle down into the seats I tell him “As much fun as I am having I should probably head home now.” “No worries love it’s probably time for me to go pick up my car.” I give the taxi driver my address and 15 minutes later we pull up to my apartment building. “Well this is my stop I guess I will see you Wednesday.” “Actually I was thinking I could walk you up.” “Oh alright.” I turn and ask the taxi driver “Would you mind waiting for a few minutes so he can come back down?” The driver gives a gruff nod in response “Thanks” I say stepping out onto the sidewalk trying to balance the take out containers in my arms as Klaus steps out behind me. We quickly walk into the building and go to the elevator. I have to ask Klaus to push the button because my hands are full, and we arrive at my floor a few minutes later. Since my keys are in my purse which I can’t reach I have to knock on the door using my foot and hope someone is home. I hear the sound of footsteps approaching the door and Bonnie swings it open “There you are Care you must have had se-” she pauses mid sentence when she sees Klaus and tries to save it by saying “some fun all night.” “Nice save Bon.” I say dryly before introducing them After they shake hands I say “Okay Bon that’s enough now take these waffles that I got for you, Lena, and Kat before you embassy me even further.” “Oh my gosh Care I love you!” she exclaims taking the take out containers from my hands and walking away, but not before mouthing  _ “He’s hot” _ without even trying to hide it. I let out a nervous chuckle and turn back to Klaus “Sorry about that Bonnie can be very..interesting.” “Oh no worries love now I have met all of your friends.” “Huh I guess you have. What do you think?” He pauses for a minute as if searching for the right word “They are..” “A lot. I know it’s fine. So I guess I’ll see you Wednesday?” “See you Wednesday love.” Klaus says leaning down to kiss me one more time before leaving. Once I am alone by the door I do a little victory dance at having a perfect first date with Klaus, and for a minute I'm not a girl who has cancer I am a girl who just got back from the best date ever.

  
  
  
  
  



	11. Caroline POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys I know once again for like the fifth time it’s been a while. There is a mix of reasons for this such as a lack of inspiration, lots of school work, etc. Though I really do hope you like this chapter it is longer than normal and this chapter isn’t so much Klaus focused as it is Caroline and her relationship with Katherine and Elena. For future reference tell me in the comments would you guys prefer more frequent updates with one chapter like one every one-two weeks or a collection of like three chapters posted once a month? As always I love love love getting comments even those that hold criticism because I am always looking to improve my writing! Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

Soon after Klaus left me, Bonnie, Kat, and Elena were all sitting together on the couch and talking. While the three of them were eating the waffles I brought them from  _ Waffle House _ I was working on a paper for my Aztec History class. We were talking about how Elena’s apprenticeship as a nurse studying under a doctor at the hospital was going when Elena finally stopped talking about her new nurse friend and asked “Okay, so I’m dying to know how did your date with the British hottie go?” “Okay first all his name is Klaus and second of all is it really that important?” Elena responds with a smile “Of course it is important Caroline! I mean you haven’t been on a date in forever, so come on it will be just like high school when we would all get together on Friday nights and steal small sips of your mom’s vodka and talk about our love life or lack thereof.” she finishes sending a teasing grin in Bonnie’s direction. “Whatever Elena. The way I look at it I lucked out. While the three of you had a parade of asshole boyfriends I only had that one with the guy named Carl that only lasted like three months and wasn’t that great to begin with. Which in turn discouraged me from dating the rest of high school and now I have the best and cutest boyfriend in the world who I love more than anything.” “You’re welcome for that by the way.” Bonnie rolls her eyes at me “I know and I have already told you thank you like a gazillion times already. What else do you want me to do, name my first born child after you?” “You said it, not me.” I reply cheekily. Elena is silent for a minute and says “You know Matt wasn’t that bad.” “Oh I know I wasn’t talking about Matt. I was mainly talking about Damon.”  _ Ugh Damon.  _ We all make a similar scoff of disgust at the mention of Elena’s ex-boyfriend and Stefan’s older brother. “Seriously Lena, why did you even date him?” I ask. “I don’t know really. At first it was just because I was jealous of Stefan and his girlfriend at the time, but then after that it just spiraled out of control with the whole thing with him just using me as an elaborate ploy to get with Katherine.” 

Katherine wrinkles her nose disgusted even at the mere thought of her and Damon “And I mean I can’t even believe he even thought he had a chance. I mean #1 It is like the first rule of girl code not to go after your sister or friend’s exes and #2 Just think of how disgusting it is that he used my sister to get with me her identical but slightly better looking twin.” “Yeah I know Damon was such a skeez bag, and what sucks the most is that the only reason why Stefan was dating that girl was to make Elena jealous.” I say. “I know that is one year of my life I am never getting back, but I still can’t help but feel a bit bad because Damon and Stefan literally stopped talking to each other after Damon graduated that year. Then like Katherine said Stefan and I broke the ‘code’ or whatever by dating each other afterwards.’ Katherine rolls her eyes at Elena and says “Okay first of all Damon and Stefan had a fucked up relationship before the whole love triangle drama and second of all the code only applies when both parties did either no wrong or both parties fucked up. In this case Elena you were a perfect girlfriend Damon on the other hand was only dating you to get to me and to probably mess with Stefan. Also speaking of Matt, what's the human golden retriever doing nowadays?” “Okay first don’t call Matt that and last time I checked he is doing pretty well as you know and is still playing football for UVA.” Elena replies. It always amazes me how even after their breakup during the first part of high school Elena and Matt are still really good friends, but all in all it probably shouldn’t be that surprising because like Kat said Matt literally is the embodiment of a golden retriever and is one of the nicest most loyal people you will ever meet. For example Matt and I have always been the closest friends out of Bonnie and Katherine and ever since my cancer diagnoses we text each other pretty regularly. He even sent me a $20 gift card for  _ Shake Shack  _ two weeks ago which had quickly become one of my favorite restaurants ever when I moved here for college. I am snapped out of my thoughts by Katherien saying “Okay enough talk about boyfriends from assholes past. Let’s hear about Caroline’s date.” 

“Alright fine. We had some dinner at this really nice Italian place called  _ Bella Sole  _ and then afterwards we tried to find his car so he could drive me home but since we were a bit tipsy we couldn’t find-” I lose my train of thought when I see the horrified look on my friends’ faces it would look almost comical if it wasn’t so worrisome. “Is everything alright?” I ask. They all try and speak at the same time, but I understand Katherine first. “What the hell were you thinking Caroline! I mean the doctor said no drinking while on chemo. You do want to get better don’t you?” “What the hell kind of question is that?” I ask horrified “I mean of course I want to get better! Why wouldn’t I?” Katherine fires back “Well it doesn’t seem like it! I mean next you’re going to tell me you drank soda at  _ Waffle House _ today!” The guilty look on my face sets her off even further and she starts berating me. I try to defend myself by saying “It was only a little bit and I mean one cheat day couldn’t hurt.” Elena, ever the peacemaker tries to ease the tension but it doesn’t get us to calm down. In fact everything gets about 10 times worse when Katherine says “If you aren’t going to listen to the doctors you may as well stop doing the chemo and die just so you can save us all the wait!” The whole room suddenly goes so quiet I can hear the slight dripping of a faucet that somebody left on. A moment later Katherine seems to realize what she said and the anger on her face slowly melts into horror. I can hear the apology start to form on her lips but not wanting to hear it I slowly get up off the couch and wipe the tears off my face before silently walking back towards my room before slamming and locking the door. 

Thankfully, Katheirne doesn’t try and come to apologize, most likely knowing I won’t be talking to her for a while. Now that I’m alone the tears start coming down my face full force and soon I’m in the middle of one of those huge snotty crying fits. Katherine’s sharp words roll through my head over and over again cutting through my soul like a knife. Does Katherine really think I want to die? I didn’t ask to get diagnosed with cancer. I follow the quote on quote ‘cancer rulebook’ to a t. I don’t eat a ton of fried fatty foods, no caffeine, eat high protein foods, and take all of the medicine I’m supposed to. I’m doing the best I can with what I got. Soon I am able to quell my huge sobs into shuddery sniffles. I mean it’s not like I chugged a whole 2-liter bottle of coke. I just had a small amount of alcohol last night and a cup of coke today. How can it be that bad? An hour later I find out it can be really bad. Bonnie had to work, Elena is out on a date with Stefan, Katherine is still here but leaving me alone, and I am puking my guts out for the sixth time that week. The worst part is I have a pounding headache to go along with it where it feels like I got fit by fifty semi trucks. Unlike most of my sick spells where once I get it out of my system it’s over I am throwing up every five minutes. Luckily, I have learned to keep multiple throw up bins stashed around my room after my first week of chemo I threw up all over the floor. When I’m sure I am finally done throwing up I shakily get up off the floor and just barely make it to my bed before collapsing in a heap. I decide to take care of the smelly throw up bin later and just take a nap, but right as I’m about to fall asleep I hear a knock on the door. “Hey Care are you okay in there? I heard some noise and just wanted to make sure you were alright.” Of course Katherine came to check on me and still not wanting to deal with her I say “Oh yeah I’m fine you must have heard something else.” 

“Alright you’re clearly lying so I’m going to come in.” Katherine said matter of factly opening up the door because  _ shit  _ I forgot to lock it after Bonnie came in to get her work uniform. When Katherine sees me when she walks I see her face drop. I must look like a mess, hair falling in front of my face with my mouth covered in throw up stains and a matching set of stains on the t-shirt I changed into coupled with the stench of the throw up bin in the corner of my room. For a minute Katherine just sits there in silence staring at me. Not wanting to deal with her criticism I just tell her grumpily “Go ahead and admit it. You were right.” I see pain flicker through her eyes as she says “Do you really think I would say that to you after you clearly got sick?” I manage a weak chuckle and say “I don’t know. Would you though?” “Of course not Care. Now come on stay there and I’ll take care of the mess.” I try to protest but Katherine shuts me up with a sharp glare before picking up my throw up bin and walking out of the room. Though on the way out she says “I will tell you later though that I was right.” I roll my eyes because Katherine wouldn’t be Katherine if she didn’t at least make some sort of snarky comment before exiting the room even while doing something nice. She comes back a minute later with a cool rag and an apologetic smile on her face. “Alright Care come on let's get you cleaned up so I can start apologizing.” Katherine quickly finds me an old Mystic Falls High T-Shirt and offers me the rag after I switch shirts so I clean off my face. After I’m all cleaned up Katherine makes me get under the covers of my bed before grabbing her computer and joining me somehow squeezing in with me. 

Once we're settled Katherine takes a deep breath and turns on her side to face me. “Caroline let me just say how sorr-” I stop her and say “Listen Kat it’s fine no need to apologize.” “No it’s not okay Caroline. What I said was completely out of line I was just hurt because I thought you weren’t taking this whole cancer thing seriously and I know the cancer isn’t that bad now but it could always get worse. And I just don’t want to lose you. I mean-” she starts to trail off getting all teary eyed. “Hey hey hey take a deep breath. I’m not going anywhere yet. How about this I’ll follow the whole cancer chemo guidelines no matter how much of a pain in the ass they are. If you promise to know that I am trying everything I can to beat this, don’t criticize my actions, and not wish death upon me. Because I’ll be honest you know I love you and the girls to death but just because I have cancer doesn’t mean I’m an invalid. Deal?” I see conflict brewing behind Katherine’s eyes before she finally says “Deal and let me just say sorry again.” Katherine affirms with a smile. “Wow Katherine Gilbert apologizing twice in one day? Maybe miracles are real.” Katherine smirks and playfully shoves me “Oh shut up. Now come on let’s say we watch so much  _ Drunk History _ so we can pretend we're drunk too.” Then we watch  _ Drunk History _ until I fall asleep. 

I wake up alone what must be hours later and I am greeted by the smell of sizzling meat. I gingerly pull myself up from my bed pulling my hair back into a messy ponytail and make my way into the kitchen. I end up seeing Katherine hunched over our tiny stove and her hair which is normally pretty frizzy is even more poofy due to the cloud of steam enveloping her. “Hey Kat what’s going on?” She turns around to face me and her face falls “Dang it you were still supposed to be asleep! Now the surprise is ruined!” “What suprise?” “Well since Elena and Bonnie are once again spending the night at their boyfriends place I thought I could cook up some dinner for us single ladies! I was going to cook some stir fry and then we were going to drink some non-alcoholic wine that I bought and watch some  _ Disney _ movies like we used to in Freshman year.” I feel my heart swell with affection for my friend and say “Aww Kat that is so sweet but we all know you can’t cook worth a damn, so why don’t I help you cook and we pop open that wine and put on some  _ Panic! At The Disco  _ and cook up some food?” Katherine debates this for a minute before yielding and saying “Oh alright get yourself over here.” I shoot her a smile before joining her in the kitchen and soon enough we are listening to  _ Panic! At The Disco _ dancing around the kitchen while cooking dinner and drinking crappy wine. As I fall into bed that night with my stomach heavier and my heart lighter I fall into a deep sleep. 

The next couple of days pass by with ease and before I know it is Wednesday morning and Elena is in my room with me helping me choose my outfit. Elena is too nice for her own good and sits patiently as I go through tons of outfits. I’m trying on what must be my tenth outfit: a pair of acid washed jeans and a white t-shirt that is tied in the front “So what do you think?” I ask her. Elena makes a little hmm sound and says “It just seems a little boring.” Deflating I say “I know right? Though I will say I am liking the jeans material maybe..” I trail off thinking of the perfect outfit. I quickly sort through the collection of clothes that I have in my tiny dresser and pull out a pair of black overalls with a flower pattern and a turquoise colored knit crop top. When I have finished putting on the outfit I pair it with a pair of white sneakers, and when I showed Elena she practically squealed with delight. “Oh my gosh! Caroline! That is like the cutest outfit ever!” “I know right!” I exclaim agreeing with her. “Now for the hair.” I say preparing just to pull my hair into my traditional ponytail, but when I finish and I pull my hand away I freeze. I end up seeing a chunk of hair on my hand. It isn’t just a small strand of hair it is literally a large clump of my hair. I knew that eventually I would start losing my hair. I just didn’t think it would be this soon or this much. By now Elena has seen the hair in my hand and her eyes are filled with sympathy “Oh Care I am so sorry.” I can’t respond because I’m. losing. My hair. “Caroline?” without even realizing it I had started to sway and when I am lead to my bed by Elena and when I sit down I feel tears start to stream down my face. 

“It’s not fair. It’s now fair.” I choke out through my tears while Elena hugs me. “I know Caroline. I know.” she says softly stroking my hair. I eventually move on from tears to hyperventilating “I mean Lena what am I going to do? I-I mean what if Klaus I don’t know tries to brush the hair out of my face and a piece comes off. Oh my gosh I’m going to be bald Lena. I’m going to look awful! And-and” I continue to go off on a huge anxiety filled tirade. Switching from her position from my side to kneeling on the carpet before me grabbing my shoulders and forcing me to look her in the eye. “Hey Caroline, calm down. You aren’t bald yet and who knows maybe in two weeks the doctors will find that the cancer is gone and you won’t go all Daddy Warbucks from  _ Annie _ .” I let out a wet chuckle and say “But what if it is still there and I go bald and then I d-” the word die gets stuck in my throat and I just sit there in silence. Elena pauses for a minute before her face lights up with an idea and she says “Be right back!” When Elena comes back she is holding a large pair of scissors and says “Caroline if you’re going to lose your hair the least I could do is lose my hair with you. So every piece of hair you lose I’ll cut off a piece of my hair too.” I try to stop her but it is too late and I watch as she cuts off a large piece of her hair that ends up being part of her bangs and I let out a gasp. A triumphant smile crosses her face and she says “See look that wasn’t so hard was it?” “Oh my gosh Elena you literally just chopped off like a third of your bangs!” “Wait what!” it is almost comical to watch as Elena walks to the mirror in my room as her expression shifts to horror. 

Suddenly I find myself in the midst of side splitting laughter so much so I feel tears coming down my face once again, but this time it is from happiness rather than anger or sadness. “It’s not funny!” Elena says stomping her foot like a small child. Seeing her irritated expression just makes me break out into even more laughter. This time I see Elena trying to fight a smile ad before I know it Elena is joining in on my laughter. Setting down the scissors and her piece of hair Elena joins me on the bed “I didn’t think that through” she manages in between bouts of laughter. When our laughter has subsided into inconstient chuckles Elena asks “Okay, how bad does it look?” Giving her a once over it really isn’t that noticeable unless she moves her head and then it looks like if somebody took a chainsaw to her hair. “I mean it’s not horrible.” I offer. Elena lets out a pained sigh and flops back down on my bed. “Oh Lena I’m sorry. I feel like this is my fault.” “No Care. I’m the one that wanted to make you feel better and I can definitely say it worked.” “Well you don’t have to do it anymore Elena. Once was enough for me.” “Oh thank god!” Elena says with relief. “Not that I don’t want to make you feel better about your cancer, I just think I need to think of a different way to do it.” After a few more chuckles about Elena’s unfortunate hair mishap she helps me fix my makeup that I ruined with my several crying sessions. Then Klaus texts me that he is waiting for me outside my apartment building, so I grab my mini backpack that I prepared earlier that day that has an extra pair of clothes, one or two water bottles, a toothbrush, my wallet, my medicine, plus a few other things. I hug Elena goodbye before putting on a pair of sunglasses and walking out the door. Riding down the elevator I feel the same kind of lightness in my heart that I felt after talking to Katherine. Who knows maybe some girl time is just what I needed to lift my spirits. 

  
  
  
  
  
  



	12. Klaus POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys I know I promised this chapter way way way earlier but my sister came home for the holidays and I got distracted spending time with my family. I know that’s a bad excuse and I apologize, so to make it up here is the longest chapter of the story (I think)! Also I know their relationship is moving really fast and maybe a bit out of character I just have to do this to move the story along. Also to address some stuff that will come up in later chapters involving Caroline’s sickness is that I am in no way a doctor and that the way her sickness will progress is to fit my story not how it would happen in real life. Anyways, enjoy! I hope you all had a happy holiday season! P.S. I love reading comments. It makes my day and encourages me to write/update faster. Just saying ;)

Ever since I left Caroline’s apartment today the only thing I could think about was how much I wanted to see Caroline again. Shortly after I drop Caroline off I quickly find my car that I left last at the parking garage last night. Thankfully, it looks just like I left it and my decision to leave it behind last night did not affect it. To be perfectly honest I could’ve found my car quite easily last night, but once my dinner with Caroline ended I just wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her so I made up the lie that I couldn’t remember where my car was and thankfully she didn’t either so I was able to spend a few more perfect hours with her. Soon enough I arrive back at my apartment building and give my car to the valet service. When I walk into my penthouse I am surprised to find Rebekah casually pouring herself a cup of coffee as if this was her house. “Bloody hell Rebekah what are you doing here?” Rebekah taking a sip of her coffee “Oh relax Nik Elijah just sent me here to get you to make sure it was okay with you if I planned the biannual charity ball.” The biannual charity ball is the party that the law firm hosts twice a year once in the spring and another one towards the end of the year where we invite all of our business partners as well as some high society people to join us at a charity auction. Usually we would hire some sort of party planning service, but lately Rebekah has been getting into party planning. Which isn’t surprising since in her charter school Rebekah was the head of the student council and was in charge of planning all of the big events like prom, the graduation party, etc. Already wanting this conversation to be over I just shrug my shoulders and tell her “I don’t see why not.” A wide smile spreads across Rebekah’s face and she claps her hands “Perfect! Now here is what I am thinking…. The Roaring Twenties!” I couldn’t help but smile as Rebekah babbled on and on about all the stuff we could do with this theme; flapper dresses, gin martinis, etc. It wasn’t because I liked the idea which I did, it was because seeing Rebekah smile always made me so happy. Out of all of our siblings Rebekah and I have always been the closest to each other and seeing her happy made me happy. 

Once Rebekah is done talking about all of the stuff she is going to do for the party she says “Well Nik I’m not only here to talk about the party. Remember that old sweater and pair of Levis I left here to return? I just saw the cutest purse today that I need to have and I figure why not return it and save some money.” Well  _ shit _ . Of course the day where I gave away the clothes after they have been here for weeks is the day Rebekah finally gives them back. I must have a guilty look on my face because a familiar exapastred look forms on her face and she sighs “Alright come on now what common street hussie did you give them to? Please tell me she at least will take care of it. Last time you gave a girl my clothes I saw her on the streets using an Armani top as a napkin. You hear me a literal Armani top as a tool to wipe up some ketchup on her face.” “Okay Caroline is not just some desperate street hussie and second of all why are you still so upset about that bloody shirt? I’m pretty sure you said anybody who would wear that is a hobo.” When I see her eyebrows raise up I brace myself for a typical Rebekah argument but to my surprise a wicked gleam of delight sparks in her eyes “Oh so these girls that trappeze in and out of your bed have names now do they? Usually it is something like the over talkative blond or the excessively annoying redhead.” I frown realising she is right and not wanting to let my dear sister know about Caroline yet I try and back track but it is too late. An excited smile spreads across Rebekah’s face as she exclaims “She isn’t just some plain old street hussie is she? You actually like a girl Nik! This is amazing; just wait till I tell Kol he is going to have a field day with this!” “Listen Rebekah please don’t tell anybody about Caroline.” As she replies Rebekah’s face looks like somebody told her Christmas has been cancelled “Why not Nik?” Letting out a pained sigh as I tell her “Listen Rebekah just don’t tell anybody please? As you know our family is… interesting to say the least and most people we bring home to meet our family whether it be a partner or a friend go running the hills shortly afterward. Besides I have only known Caroline for two weeks. So please just don’t tell anybody yet. Okay?”

I watch with apprehension as Rebekah taps her foot thinking before saying “Oh alright only because this is like the first time you have said please in like ten years. It is going to cost you though. I want a check made for $350 dollars in exchange for the shirt and pants you gave this…. Caroline. I mean just because she is the first girl you’ve liked in god knows how long doesn't mean you just get to give away my clothes like candy.” Knowing there is no use in arguing; my sister always the bargainer, I just find my checkbook before quickly writing her a cheek before wishing her goodbye. Though just about as the elevator door is about to close she says “Oh yeah I forgot to mention part of the deal is you have to bring her to the charity ball and make sure she does not look better than me. I mean this is my party after all.” right before the doors close shutting off my snappy reply. I shake my head before resuming the day's activities all the while thinking how did I ever get stuck with Rebekah as my sister. The days leading up to Wednesday pass by excuranttly with days filled with meetings with big companies such as CVS dealing with some sort of lawsuit, my annoyingly persistent assistant who continues to try and seduce me, and lots and lots of bourbon. 

Finally, Wednesday arrived and after receiving a text from Caroline telling me to wear my casual clothing I nervously hail my first taxi which after Caroline’s lesson was actually quite easy. Once the smelly yellow death trap comes to a stop I send Caroline a quick text letting her know that I am here before exiting the taxi and stepping out onto the curb. A minute later Caroline comes walking out and I can’t help but notice as she shivers slightly which is surprising considering it is is almost 90 degrees outside, but those thoughts couldn’t become further from my mind as Caroline comes bounding up to me before wrapping her arms around my neck and placing a chaste kiss on my lips. Pulling away from it I murmur “Seems like you’ve missed me love.” “You don’t even know the half of it” she shoots back before pulling me in for another kiss. I reluctantly pull away and point out people now staring at us and say “As much as I would like to continue this I believe I was promised a tour of the city.” Caroline gives an all too cute shrug of her shoulders “Yes you were. So now first things first go ahead and pay that poor taxi driver because it seems like you’ve forgotten to.” I scrunch my eyebrows confusingly “But you said we can’t drive my car and I know we aren’t walking everywhere so how else are we supposed to travel?” A mischievous sparkle lights up her face that is scarily similar to Rebekah and adds “Step #1 on the full NYC experience is now that after you have had a taxi ride it is now time to ride on your first subway, so pay the driver and let’s go!” 

A few minutes later we are walking down the street after I paid the taxi cab driver when we arrive at the subway station entrance and right before we go down Caroline pulls her wallet out and hands me a card. When she sees my perplexed look and laughs “It’s a metro card dummy.” “A what?” “You know a metrocard. People load how much money they want to spend on it and whenever they want to ride the subway they just swipe it instead of using a credit card or cash.” “Oh okay, so how much do I owe you?” Caroline shoots me an incredulous look “It’s free. I’ve got it covered because Stef lent me his for you to use and he rarely ever takes the subway so there is like $300 dollars on here because for some reason he has put $100 down on it every year since we moved here even though he only uses it like three times a year. Now come on we’ve got to hurry if we want to catch a seat on our subway because trust me you don’t want to stand up on one.” Before I have to ask why she is already grabbing my hand and pulling me down the faded green stairs. When we arrive at the bottom I wrinkle my nose in distaste at the smell of old sweat, stale coffee, and moldy food. Caroline lets out a bright laugh and says “I know it smells…. interesting, but you get used to it after a while.” “Really?” “Yeah and actually the strange thing is now it actually smells….” she trails off and looks at something in the distance. I follow her gaze and see what appears to be a homeless man sitting against a far off wall slightly tapping a set of bongos. Turning back to me Caroline asks “Would you mind standing here for a minute?” Before I have a chance to even reply I watch as she makes her way over to the man before crouching down and opening her backpack before giving the man two water bottles, a granola bar, and several crumpled up bills. 

Caroline returns a minute later before silently slipping her hand back into mine as if she just returned from the bathroom not helping out a homeless man. “Why did you do that?” Caroline gives me a look like she thinks I’m the dumbest man on earth “Why wouldn’t I do that? He was a man and needed help and I believe it is our duty as humans to help out those less fortunate than us even when we are not very fortunate ourselves.” “What do you mean?” “I mean I’m a poor broke college student even with my dad paying for most of my tuition I still have to pay for textbooks which I might say are WAY too expensive just for a book that is like 5 lbs. heavier than normal and pay for everyday expenses like utilities, taxi fares, etc. I mean shouldn’t we try to just to do good stuff where and whenever we can?” I’m about to reply when the sound of our train screeching to a stop in front of us interrupts me. “Oh look the train is here!” Caroline exclaims excitedly “Come on let’s go before all’s were left with are the mysteriously stained ones.” and pulls me along so we join the swarm of people walking through the silver doors. 

Thankfully, Caroline is able to quickly find us two seats pretty close to the door and we sit down before the subway starts to move. “So what exactly is on our to do list ?” I ask her. “Well stop number one is the most touristy place you can go in the Big Apple the Statue of Liberty! Yes I know it’s very typical but trust me the view is AMAZING. Then after that I’m going to take you to my favorite hot dog cart in the city for lunch, then we’re going to go to the Met, and by that time it should be dinner so then we’re going to a spectacular taco truck.” “Are you sure we can get that all done in one day?” “Oh yeah totally the stuff we’re doing today is nothing compared to the stuff me and my friends did on one of our first days in the city. We were able to hit every major attraction in the city plus had enough time to go to the Taylor Swift Concert we purchased tickets too.” “Bloody hell love how did you do that?” 

“With this.” she says reaching into her backpack and pulling out a thick neatly folded stack of paper and straightening it out before handing it to me. “What’s this?” I ask with confusion looking at the pages filled with neat bulleted lists. “That is a typical Caroline Forbes schedule. It tells how much time we can spend at the statue and the island before we can easily hail a taxi at the nearest street near the ferry docks before giving the quickest way to get to my favorite hot dog cart. After that it tells how much time we can spend eating lunch before going to the Met and I’ve taken the liberty of highlighting the best places in the Met and how much time it would take to hit all of them. Then finally it gives us the quickest route from the Met to the taco truck.” The only thing I can say is “Wow.” “I know. I’m very type A. I just like to keep things as neat and as clean as possible. To be honest this list is nothing to the ones I make when it comes to event planning.” “You plan events?” “Well I planned events. Back in highschool I was the president of the student council, prom committee, and basically every other club you could think of so it fell on me to plan homecomings, fundraisers, proms, the big grad night party, etc. etc.” Looking at her with her golden hair and blue eyes and the stuff I’m learning about her I can’t help but say “Have I ever told you remind me a lot sister.” Snorting Caroline replies “Wow. Just want every girl wants to hear that the guy she likes reminds him of his sister.”  __ I try to back track but she interrupts me “Oh no as long as your sister is a good person I can take that as a sort of complinet” I then decide it’s for the best not to tell her sometimes people refer to my sister as the biggest bitch they ever met. Which usually they aren’t wrong but still. 

We spend the rest of the subway ride chatting and catching up over the stuff that has happened the past couple of days we’ve been apart. Then about fifteen minutes later when the train starts to slow down for its third stop when Caroline reaches into her backpack yet again and pulls out her wallet rifling through it. “What are you doing?” “I’m trying to find the… thing?” “You’re going to have to be a little clearer than that love.” She shoots me a sharp look before returning to leaf through it before triumphantly pulling out a credit card or at least what looks like one. “Ah ha! Here it is. This is basically what we’re going to use to get around today. It is the New York City All Access Pass that you can buy for the bargain price $250 that allows you unlimited access to over thirty different experiences that the Big Apple has to offer that you will be certain to remember for years to come!” “What the bloody hell are you saying?” “I’m saying the tagline that tries to sell you this pass and let me be frank for people like me $250 is not a bargain price and they try to make you feel better than it by including a free $30 bucks for souvenirs which I found out is only enough for a really shitty hat or t-shirt which just shows how messed up our economy is and… I’m getting off track here. Case in point here is your pass that we can once again thank the good Stefan Salvatore for lending me his pass to have you borrow for the day so I will give you this and you can give me back the subway card.” I give her back the subway card and she hands me the all access pass. Then when the subway pulls to a stop Caroline excitedly grabs my hand and turns back to me her eyes alight with excitement “Now come hurry up if we want to stick to the schedule we have to get the hell off of this train so we can get to the statue!”

Soon enough we are riding in a ferry that is gliding across the sapphire colored waters of the Upper New Bay and as we approach the tall structure of the statue Caroline says “I don’t know why know matter how many more times I come here it never ceases to amaze me how beautiful it looks. I mean can you just imagine being on a ship like this almost two hundred years ago and you’ve been stuck on it for months and then finally you see this beautiful piece of architecture and you just know you’ve made it. I mean just imagine all the hope and relief people must’ve felt.” “It is pretty amazing.” is all I can say before our ferry comes to a rumbling stop on the shores of Liberty Island. “Oh good we’re here! Come on let’s get off.” Caroline says before grabbing my hand and leading me off the ship. When we step off the ship and onto the little grassy shore Caroline turns around to me and asks “Okay we have two options. #1 We go up the statue as fast as we can and spend more time looking out at the view. #2 We take our time going up the statue and only spend a few minutes at the top. What do you think?” “I’m fine with whatever love.” “Alright then I guess we’ll go up slowly because last time I went up quickly with my friends one of them ended pretty much collapsed at the top and that was not fun.” After we show our access passes at the ticket kiosk we spend a few minutes walking around the stone courtyard waiting for a chance to go up. I’m about to suggest we go up when Caroline says “You know what I’ll be right back. Just wait here.” 

Then once again Caroline goes running off somewhere before I even have a chance to reply. For the next couple of minutes I’m just left standing there in the crowds of tourists when I feel Caroline return behind me and starts to put something on my head. Now hold on just a minute… here we go!” Before I even know it Caroline is in front of me taking a picture with her camera. “What the hell did you just put on my head” “What just happened is that I just got the most perfect contact picture for you!” she exclaims happily turning her phone around to show me one of the most awful pictures of myself. For the most part I look fantastic in pictures but in this one I didn’t know I was taking one so my eyes are squinting in the sunlight, my mouth is in some sort of scowl, and I have the most ridiculous looking crown on my forehead. It resembles that of the statue’s crown and has ‘I Love NY’ plastered on it in big black letters. I quickly pull it off and ask “What the bloody hell is this?” Barely able to speak through her laughter Caroline says “That is the I Love NY crown that I selflessly used my free $30 bucks to buy so you better wear it!” “I’m sorry love, but you’re crazy if you think I’m going to wear that ugly piece of green shit hat on my head and you better delete that photo of me or else.” “Okay I won’t make you wear the hat which is admintley tacky, but there is no way in hell that I am going to delete that picture. It is too good just to throw away. Now come one I think now is a good time to head up the statue” and she starts to walk towards the statue leaving me no choice but to follow.

The view ends up being as beautiful Caroline says it is. We finally made it to the crown of the Statue of Liberty close to an hour after we started making our way up the stairs, and when we reached the top I couldn’t help but notice the way Caroline clutched her side and hasn’t stopped breathing heavily even though we took our time getting up the stairs and have been up here for ten minutes. When I express my concern she brushes it off and gives a weak excuse along the lines of she hasn’t been exercising lately so she is out of shape. I decide not to push it and instead enjoy the view and watch the way the waters splash gently across the far off speck of land that is the rest of New York City. As we sit up there looking at the city with a bird’s eye silence in companionable silence I make sure to commit every detail to my memory so next time I can paint I can paint every detail perfectly. “So what do you think?” Caroline finally asks. “I think it is spectacularly beautiful, but not as beautiful as the lady in front of me.” I say leaning down and pressing a kiss to her lips. Sadly Caroline pulls away from the kiss just as quickly as it began and she playful says “As much fun it would be to continue this I would hate to be thrown out for public indecency and get my first mark on what is otherwise a perfectly clean record. Chuckling I say “Fair enough love. Though I will say this is usually the part where you compliment me back.” Rolling her eyes Caroline playfully says “Alright how about this I have never seen a man with as big of an ego as yours that I still like to hang out with. Though it probably does help that you are both easy on the eyes and rich.” before bumping me with her hip. We spend a few more minutes with this playful back and forth before deciding to make our way back down to the ferry. 

In another twenty minutes we are stepping back into the bright sun filled courtyard of Liberty Island. Though once again when we reach the bottom I can’t help but notice once again that Caroline looks terrible and her steps are shaky. I’m about to ask if she is okay when she says “Hey um would you mind it if I sat down for a minute? “Of course love” I say and we walk over to a nearby bench. When we settle down Caroline turns around to me with a guilty look on her face and says “I hate to ask this but is there any chance you can perhaps buy me a bottle of water? I would have my own bottle but I gave it to the man back at the subway and I am really thirsty.” “It would be my pleasure to Caroline” I give her a quick kiss on the lips before venturing out to buy a bottle of water which ends up being ten dollars just for a small sixteen ounce bottle. I return to the bench to find Caroline sitting there looking down at her phone. “Well here you go love. Though I will say it cost ten bucks just for this puny bottle of water. I’m starting to think you might be right about your country's messed up economy though.” Caroline just silently shakes her head and motions for me to hand her the water bottle ,which I do, and when she does I watch as she quickly opens up the top and takes a long and languorous sip. Once again I am filled with concern as I watch Caroline practically choke the water down looking as if it was poison. After she is finished she wipes off her face and puts the cap back on the water bottle and into her backpack. Getting up off the bench and brushing off her legs Caroline asks “So are you ready to go and try the best hot dogs in New York?” “I’m ready if you are.” “Fantastic! Now come on let’s go catch the next ferry so we can stick to the schedule.” 

One ferry and taxi ride later we are waiting in line on a busy street corner for what Caroline dubs the best hot dogs in the city. As we get closer and closer to the front of the line Caroline asks “Would you mind if I ordered for you? I mean I have been going here ever since my second week in the city so I have a pretty good idea of what's best here.” “Go right on ahead love.” “Fantastic! Just you wait once you have these hot dogs your life will never be the same.” Laughing I say “I’m sure it won’t be.” We arrive at the front of the line a few minutes later where there is a short plump man with a thick mustache hunched over the steaming vats of the hot dog cart. The man ends up quickly spotting us and when he sees Caroline his eyes light up and he exclaims “Caroline Forbes! My best customer has once again returned. What’s taken you so long? You usually come here three times a week but I haven’t seen you since the end of March. You haven’t found a new hot dog cart have you?” Chuckling Caroline says “Oh I wouldn't dream of it Lucas! Nobody makes hot dogs the way you do. I have just been busy lately so unfortunately I haven’t had a chance to come by. I am here now though so if you’d please I would love to get two usuals please.” That is when he finally seems to notice me and gives me a curious once over before turning back to Caroline and asking “Whose this?” “Oh um this is Klaus he is a…. friend who is fairly new to the city and I promised him a tour of New York. Then I thought what better place to take him than Lucas’s hot dog cart.” Turning his gaze back to me I can tell Lucas knows we are more than friends but doesn’t say anything but “Are two usualls all you and your  _ friend  _ will be having?” “Yes please that will be all. How much do I owe you?” “Are you kidding me! It’s on the house as long as you promise to start coming back regularly.” I can see the words of a protest starting to form on Caroline’s tongue, but when she sees the look on Lucas's face she humps out a “Deal.”

A couple of minutes later we are walking down the street with Caroline carrying two hotdogs wrapped up in tin foil and a fry cone and I am carrying two bottles of lemonade in a glass coke bottle which Caroline says Lucas makes homemade and stores in old coke bottles plus another fry cone. “Alright so where would you like to sit and eat? Central Park is pretty close, but it’s usually really crowded. I’m thinking I can take you to this old patito place that I know. It’s a little further than Central Park but it is one of my favorite places to go when I need to work on something.” “I say let’s go to this patio place then.” “Perfect! Now come on we have to hurry up if we want to continue to stick to the schedule.” Then before I know it Caroline is leading me down several side streets while making random twists and turns. Soon we arrive at an old boarded up building that is covered in spray paint and attached to the side is an old wrought iron fence that is partially covered in ivy and dandelions. “Are you sure this place is open love?” Walking towards the gate Caroline answers over her shoulder “Oh yeah of course. It just takes a little bit of elbow grease to get this gate open.” before pushing her shoulder against the gate a couple of times until it creaks open. Looking back at me mysteriously Caroline says “Our table awaits.” and then walks into whatever lies beyond the ivy covered gates. Feeling concerned I quickly follow her in “What the bloody hell are you doing here love? I’m all down for a little rule breaking here and there but I’m going to need a little heads up first.” “Oh relax. We’re not breaking any rules. Okay we’re not breaking any  _ major _ rules. From what I was told this was an old coffee shop way back when that went out of business like ten or so years ago and since the location was so horrible nobody wanted to buy it and it just stayed closed. Arigo the patio stayed here and now I like to come here when I need some alone time.” “How did you even come across this place love?” “Oh um I know this is kind of awkward but a date showed it to me. Though let me preface it by saying that it was one of the worst dates I’ve ever been on.” 

Despite what she just said I couldn’t help but feel a bit hackled on the fact that she brought me to some place that some wannabe boyfriend took her years ago. As if she was reading my mind Caroline says “Let me repeat that it was one of the absolute worst dates ever. First of all he took me to Taco Bell. I mean don’t get me wrong I fucking love Taco Bell. It is one of the best fast food places out there, but that is like third date lunch material; not first date. Then get this he made me pay for it! You may think that was it, but nope it gets way worse! After that we bought some beers from some random food truck which I again paid for and that is when he showed me this place. I started to think okay maybe this guy isn’t so bad, but then while we were drinking our second beer when he decided he wanted to you know get frisky here in this patio area. I obviously said no and he was about to protest when he puked on my favorite pair of  _ Spice Girl _ inspired sneakers. Long story short I never saw the guy again and now I have a beautiful place to go so the story had a happy ending. Alright I think now is a good time to stop talking about awful dates because if I told you about everyone we would be here all day, so let’s eat!” 

We end up sitting at an old table nearest to an old brick wall that is partially overgrown with wildflowers and I have to say the hot dogs actually end up being pretty good. The bun is made up of some sort of challah bread, the fries are coated in these tiny fried garlic bits, and the lemonade; which Caroline shows me how to open the bottle on the edge of the table, ends up being nice and tart with a sweet kick. When we finish Caroline offers me a bright smile and says “Now are you ready to go to the Met? I have a feeling you're going to love it.” “Well then lead the way love.” We quickly throw away our trash in a trash can a few feet away from the gate and Caroline finds a glass recycling bin laying outside a restaurant where we deposit our glass bottles. 

After all of our trash is taken care of Caroline gives me back the Metro Card and we take the subway before getting off and catching a taxi that takes us to the large stone steps leading up to the Met. For the next hour or so Caroline and I walk hand in hand looking at all of the different paintings, sculptures, and such. Caroline actually surprises me when she tells me about the history about some of the items we see. When I ask her how she knows all of this stuff she tells me “I actually took an Art History class a few years ago at a local community college.” “I never took you for a history buff love nonetheless an art one.” Laughing she says “I actually really do like history. The town I grew up in; Mystic Falls, actually has a really interesting history involving the civil war. While Art History has never really been interesting to me back in high school I really needed to work hard so I could get a scholarship to an out of state school so I did a bunch of extra curriculars and summer classes to buff up my resume so I thought why not an Art History class? In the end it all worked out because I got a couple thousand dollar educational scholarship.” At that moment I just can’t help but be simply amazed at Caroline and just how well… amazing she is. I let out a low chuckle and shake my head and tell her “You continue to cease to amaze me love everytime we talk.” “Why thank you, Klaus. If it makes you feel better I think you’re pretty amazing too.” “Wow. A compliment from Caroline Forbes herself, consider me honored.” “Well I figured you must be tired of complimenting yourself all the time, so I figured why not help you out a bit.” “You say that as if all I do is talk about and compliment myself.” “Well to be fair when we talked the other day you did compliment yourself on choosing the lawyer that won some sort of big case for your law firm.” 

I’m about to retort until I find myself smirking as a brilliant idea pops into my head. I quickly asses our surroundings and make sure that we are the only ones or at least one of the only ones before letting go of her hand before grabbing her hips and pulling her against my chest and let out a low whisper “You would be pretty confident about yourself too love if you could do this” before leaning down to kiss her. At first she is caught off guard by the kiss but soon she melts into so much so she allows my tongue to slip past her mouth and intertwine with hers. I’m just starting to feel the low thrum of desire to build in my stomach when she pulls away a bit breathlessly. I couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed but it is quickly replaced once again with concern as Caroline winces and starts to rub her temples. “Are you alright love?” “Yeah yeah” she mumbles “I’m sorry I just got this really sudden headache. Do you mind if we sat down for a minute?” “Of course.” I immediately reply guiding her to one of the nearby benches. Caroline all but collapses onto the bench when we sit down. “Are you sure you’re alright love?” I ask as Caroline leans down and rests her forehead on top of her hands. “Yeah. I’m fine. It’s probably just because I’m getting over some cold I had a couple of days ago.” “It must have been some cold then love if you’re still having these symptoms a few days after you got over it. I’m going to ask you again… Are you okay?” Pulling her head up and looking at me with an angry glint in her eye Caroline snaps at me “I’m fine okay! Calm the hell down.” I can feel my anger start to rise at Caroline’s irritated attitude and I’m about to start firing back at her when her face softens and she says “I am so sorry. I know you're just trying to help. Lately I have just been feeling… under the weather lately so to speak. Though trust me it’s nothing huge that’s contagious or anything. I’m pretty sure it’s just general stress because finals for my college are fast approaching.” I quickly feel my anger dissipate just as quickly as it arrives because I know Caroline yelling at meant nothing by it, but I also can’t help but feel once again that there is something that she isn’t telling me. I want to ask her again if there is anything wrong with her but having no interest in getting yelled at again I just drop it. I give her a weak smile and say “If you say so love.” Before I can say anything else though I am interrupted by a voice coming from the loud speakers announcing that the Met is closing. Caroline smiles at me and says “Well I guess that is our cue to leave. I say now is the perfect time to leave so I can take you to that taco truck I was telling you about. What do you say?” Feeling my spirits start to rise and my smirk returning to my face I say “That sounds terrific.”

Later on, for what must be the fiftieth time that day Caroline and I are riding together in a musty taxi cab to the taco truck she is taking me to. After about twelve minutes of riding in the taxi it stops in front of a small courtyard with strings of light bulbs hanging above a cluster of picnic tables surrounded by a group of food trucks emitting an array of smells and soft music. I quickly pay the taxi driver before Caroline grabs my hand and practically yanks me out of the taxi and into the fray of people surrounding the food trucks. “Alrighty, are you ready for the best tacos you have ever had!” “You sure like to use the word ‘best’ a lot love. Best hot dogs, best hot chocolate, best tacos, best boyfriend you have ever had, etc., etc., “Well what can I say I know some pretty good places for some…. wait did you just say boyfriend?” Well  _ shit. _ I quickly try and back track “Did I just say boyfriend? I meant ridiculously handsome hot date.” Caroline’s eyes alight with amusement she says “Nope nope nope. You said boyfriend!” I hang my head down low and start to apologize “Listen I know that it is way too soon and now you probably think I’m some sort of…” Caroline interrupts me and says “No I actually quite like calling you my boyfriend. I mean we have already been on one technically two dates and have been talking for a couple of weeks. Besides that means that you get to call me your girlfriend!” For a minute I am at a loss for words, my mind is a blank slate. I don’t think I have ever had an official girlfriend before and for a minute I’m just stuck there mentally cursing myself for idiotically calling me Caroline’s boyfriend. It’s not that I don’t want to be Caroline’s boyfriend, it's just that I can feel a bit of fear at becoming close with somebody other than my family. My father has always told us that caring about someone makes you weak and I believed him. I feel my train of thought start to vere in a dangerous direction until Caroline pulls me out of my own mind by tugging on my arm and saying “Now come on you can either stand there or you can come and buy your girlfriend a boat load of tacos.” As she pulls me towards the glowing lights of the taco truck and I start to feel my fears start to slip away because I realize that if caring about someone makes you weak then I’m the weakest man on earth and I couldn't care less. 


	13. Caroline POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey you guys here is chapter 13! While this chapter isn’t my favorite it is an important one in the overall story. Also this is where Rebekah starts to come into the story and as you will see there isn’t much actual dialogue with her because I’m not really sure how to characterize her so if you guys have any ideas I would love to hear them. Like I said in the previous chapter in this story I am making Caroline’s illness fit the progression of my story. I’m not basing it on what would happen in real life. Earlier in the story I said Caroline has Stage 3 cancer but as of now I’m changing to Stage 2 for now. I’ve also been thinking part of the reason why I don’t update very often is because of writer’s block for this story so to remedy that I thought I could start a collection of one shots centering around everybody’s favorite blonde vampire that I would write and post whenever I have writer’s block. If you guys would be interested in that I would be happy to take requests and I would be willing to write about any ship involving Caroline not just Karoline because while it is my OTP I sometimes go through periods where get heavily involved with other ships such as Carenzo or crack ships such as Koroline/Carlijah. Though I won’t do any Steroline or Daroline because tbh I hate those ships with a burning passion. Anyways as always your comments/kudos make my day. Enjoy! :)

Once again I wake up in an unfamiliar bed, but this time it is not the guest room that I woke up in the other week but rather Klaus’s room. I suddenly sit straight up out of bed at the realization that I am in Klaus’s room because well shit. Thankfully, since I didn’t have any alcohol last night so I am easily able to recall the events from last night. We got several street tacos and some Sprite because I couldn’t have any alcohol or any caffeine (which I made up some excuse as to why I told Klaus). Afterwards we got some rolled ice cream from one of the other food trucks before just walking around the bustling streets of the city. When I started to feel tired Klaus invited me back to his penthouse so we could maybe watch some more Friends. Deep down I could sense the suggestive undertone to his words and I knew I should say no, but even without the influence of alcohol the only thing I could think of to say was yes. So I did. Almost the second we crossed the threshold of his apartment Klaus quickly shoved me against the wall and pressed a to my lips.The more I recall the events from last night the more worried I become. Then all of a sudden I recall the worst thing that happened last night…. Klaus called himself my boyfriend and then I told him to call me his girlfriend. I mentally curse myself over and over again for being so fucking stupid. Here I was about to have my fifth chemo appointment fast approaching and weeks after swearing off romance I’m now in an official relationship. Fuck me. I quickly try and formulate an easy plan to break things off with Klaus in the most painless way possible even though I really really don’t want to. I mean maybe I can keep this relationship going. Right? I only have two weeks of chemo left and then if all goes according to plan I will have kicked the cancer’s butt and I won’t even have to tell Klaus that I had cancer for the first couple of weeks that we knew each other!

But then…

What if? 

What if the cancer  _ doesn’t  _ go away? 

A million more ‘what ifs?’ start to flood my mind. What if the cancer isn’t responding to the chemo? What if the doctors have to risk performing the surgery? 

Before my train of thought can once again travel the dangerous path filled with the worst case scenarios I hear my phone start to softy ring. I realize that it is not lying on the shiny black marble. I sit up grumpily and that is when I finally take notice of Klaus sleeping right next to me. My heart melts and breaks at the same time because I can’t help but notice how peaceful he looks with a small smile etched on his face that looks so different from his normal devilish smirk and it is while looking at him that I realize that I have to break up with him at least for now. I just can’t risk adding one more person to the people I will hurt if my cancer doesn’t get any better. I’m broken out of my stupor by the ringing of my phone once again cutting through the silence in the room. With one last groan I get out of the bed gently pulling one of the thin sheets with me and search for my phone which happens to be in my backpack that I haphazardly shoved off by the bedroom door in a haste so Klaus could take off my clothes. I frown immediately recognizing the hospital’s number flashing across the screen and quickly swipe to answer in. I hear a receptionist’s voice that I remembered from one of my past visits and she says….

“Am I speaking to Caroline Forbes?” 

“Yes, this is she.”

“This is New York Presbyterian Hospital just calling to remind you that your chemotherapy appointment in the Radiology department has been moved from Friday April 19th at 10:30 a.m. to today Wednesday April 17th at 9:15 a.m.”

“Wait, what?” 

“Didn’t Dr. Ornell call you a few days ago and ask if it would be possible to reschedule your appointment just so she could talk to you and make sure you’re feeling okay?” 

I quickly go over the people I’ve talked to these past couple of days and then recall what exactly the receptionist was referring to; it was the day Klaus and I talked on the phone for almost three hours while I was working on a paper for school when about half way through another call started to come through. When I put Klaus on hold for a quick second and answered the phone I was partially distracted and barely registered what the person from the hospital was saying besides them asking to move my appointment and me saying yes. 

Mentally cursing myself I try to keep my tone as normal as possible and say “Oh yes of course. I’ll be there soon.” 

“Fantastic! See you later Ms. Forbes.”

“Bye.”

When I hang up I glance at the time at the top part of my phone and realize that it is 8:34 a.m. and once again I start to mentally curse myself at my own stupidity. I do some mental math in my head and I realize that Klaus’s apartment building is at least ten minutes away from the hospital not accounting for the morning traffic that is a given any day when living in the city. I quickly drop the sheet and start to look around the room for my undergarments because of course I remembered to bring regular clothes but not those. Thankfully, I am able to find my underwear quite quickly and pull them on before frantically rifling through my bag looking for the shirt and pair of shorts I brought. As I am pulling on the shirt I brought which is thankfully not see through I hear a voice sound out from behind me and I almost jump up ten feet in the air.

“What’s the rush love? I hope last night wasn’t too bad. I myself found it quite enjoyable.” 

Without even looking back at him I can hear the smirk in his voice and once I have my shorts pulled on I turn around and see Klaus relaxing against the headboard is hands folded behind his head and the covers pulled down enough so I can see his finally toned chest…. I quickly catch myself staring when his smirk does the impossible widens even further. 

Blushing furiously I turn my attention back to my bag quickly pulling on my socks before searching for my discarded sneakers all the while talking to Klaus “Yes while I did find last night quite enjoyable I have to …” I trail off and try to come up with a believable lie “Go to work!” I finish off triumphantly. 

“Call in sick.” 

Letting out an irritated huff I tell him “I can’t.” 

“Why?” 

“Because unlike some people us peasants actually have to work if we want to survive. Now you can either walk me out or I can walk myself out.”

“Alright love, you win. Now give me a minute so I can get dressed.”

“Perfect. You wouldn’t by chance have anything to eat besides ice cream here, would you?”

“I believe I may have some fruit in the pantry you’re welcome to help yourself.” 

“Fantastic. See you in a minute.” I say over my shoulder before stepping outside of his room. 

After finding the pantry I quickly find an apple and all but shove it down my throat and when I walk out I find Klaus now dressed in his typical attire of a henley, leather jacket, and jeans lazily scrolling through his phone at the large island in the kitchen. I quickly throw the apple core into the trash can in the kitchen and he looks up at me with a smile.

“Why hello love. Fancy seeing you here.”

“Har har har very funny. Now as much I would like to stay here I have a job to get to, so chop chop.”

A faux pout flashing on his face Klaus says “Why do you have to take the fun out of everything?” 

Rolling my eyes I tell him “You can’t take the fun out of something that was never fun to begin with like this conversation. Now come on, I need to leave now if I want to make the subway in time.” I stretch my hand out as a silent offer for him to take it and he does so with his signature smirk. 

As we wait for the elevator I get a blinding stomach cramp and I have to force myself not to double over in pain, but I do stop in my tracks though drawing concern from Klaus. 

“Are you alright love?”

“Yeah..yeah… I’m fine. I think I just have this um…. stomach cramp.” I take a couple deep breaths before regaining my composure and trying to continue on, but Klaus stays in his tracks.

“Are you sure you're okay? You seem to be off. Yesterday I noticed how you were cold when it was something like eighty degrees and you seemed like you wanted to faint twice yesterday.”

_Of freaking course he noticed that. Why does he have to be so attentive?_ _Why couldn’t he just be like most of my other boyfriends? Cute, kinda dumb, and so self obssed I could tell them my dog died and alls they would do is shrug their shoulders and say “Awww. I’m sorry that sucks.” and that’s it._ These are a variety of thoughts that are running through my head at a mile a minute while I try to figure out what to say back to him. 

“Oh that. I’ve always been a bit cold-blooded and you know I’m your typical overworked underpaid college student, so it’s not uncommon for me to go all day after an hour or two of sleep and be a bit spacey.”

“That seems a bit more than spacey. Are you sure you're alright.”

“I’m fine.” I snap at him getting fed up with his concern because he was supposed to be the one person who didn’t treat me like a girl who might drop dead at any given moment just because she has cancer. Grant it he doesn’t know I have cancer but still. Though when I look at his fallen expresion and I immediately regret it. All of a sudden I feel a heavy weight start to settle upon me when it finally truly dawns on me that this…. thing I have with Klaus has to end now if I want to spare him from the worst case scenario. It’s going to hurt like hell doing this to him the day after we just became official.

I turn my attention back to him and try to keep the sadness off my face “Listen Klaus, I’m sorry that was uncalled for. Though I think we should talk about last night….” 

I am quickly interpreted by the chime of the elevator and the doors slide open. I almost jump backwards in shock because the elevator isn’t empty; instead there is a tall blonde woman standing there with pin straight blond hair and ice blue eyes. I couldn’t help but notice that this mysterious woman looked almost like a Barbie version of Elena and it didn’t help that the clothes she was wearing looked like they cost almost as much as a whole year's rent for my apartment. Though I am so confused as hell as to who this woman could be because you can’t get up into the penthouse unless you're buzzed in or have the code for the elevator, and I’m just about to ask who she is when Klaus beats me to it.

“Bloody hell Rebekah what are you doing here?”

_ Oh. Rebekah. His sister. Son of a… _

Rebekak responds dryly “Don’t try and hide your excitement just for my sake Nik. I’m just here because I wanted to stop by and see my favorite brother...” she trails off and her eyes widen almost to comically large sizes when she sees me.

“And who might you be… oh wait you're Caroline!” 

“Umm yes and that must make you Rebekah, Klaus’s sister.”

“Oh yes, so I assume my dear brother has told you all about his dear little sister.”

Before I can reply I am immediately cut off by an irritated Klaus.

“May I ask again  _ dearest sister _ what are you doing here?”

“Oh relax Nik I just came by to rest my feet in between classes, but now that I am here I think this would be a perfect chance to meet Caroline.”

“Well hate to break it to you Rebekah but Caroline has a job to get to so we have to go.” 

“Oh nonsense Nik why don’t you just stay here and I’ll walk with Caroline to her job. This will give me a perfect chance to get to know more about the girl my brother is obsessed with. Now come on let’s go!” 

Then before I know it I am being yanked into the elevator by Rebekah’s perfectly manicured hands and I just have enough time to say a quick goodbye to Klaus before the doors close separating us. Rebekah quickly turns her attention back to me and now that there are only two of us her gaze turns cold and she gives me one long accessing look. 

“So your Nik’s current fling.”

“Umm…. I guess.”

“So how did you two meet?”

“We actually ran into each other on the street or well more like your ever so charming brother wasn’t looking where he was going and bumped into me making me drop my cup of hot chocolate. Then after that we met up so he could replace it, then we went out to dinner at this fancy shmancy restaurant, the other day I decided to take your brother on a tour of some of my favorite places in the city, and we have talked on the phone several times.” 

“You seem nice enough, but I have to ask, are you just dating my brother for his money?”

“Wait,  _ what _ ?” I ask, shocked and offended.

“Oh I mean no offence darling it’s just that most recently most people that are poor like yourself attach themselves to our family seem to be a bunch of money hungry gold diggers.” 

“Excuse you I’ll have you know that I am no such person. I have WAY more integrity than that, and I may be poor but at least I have some manners unlike some people.”

Thankfully, the elevator comes to a stop soon after I am done speaking so I take one last look at Rebekah before talking to her in the most even tone I can manage…

“Well as much fun as this conversation I have a job to get to, so if you'll excuse me I’ll be going.” I finish stepping out of the elevator into the pristine lobby and make my way towards the large glass doors, but before I can fully make my way out the doors I am stopped by Rebekah running up to catch up to me and once again grabbing my arm and turning me to face her.

“Listen Caroline I’m sorry about that back here you’re right that was uncalled for. Let me start over… Hi I’m Rebekah.” she says holding out her hand for me to shake. 

I hesitate for a moment before reaching out to shake her hand and saying “I’m Caroline.” 

“Nice to meet you Caroline. Is it just a coincidence or are you the Caroline that my brother seems to be very fond of.”

“It is no coincidence though I will say you look a lot like his sister Rebekah though but be warned she can be a bit of a bitch.” 

I see Rebekah tense for a minute before visibly relaxing as she replies with a soft chuckle “Alright I will admit that I may have deserved that. Though let me just say it one more time because I don’t apologize that often, but I am truly sorry about what I said earlier it was really uncouth and unfair for me to say that to you having just met you. You seem like a terrific person and I don’t think I have seen Nik this happy in a long time. It’s just now that our parents are gone we only have ourselves to look after each other not that my parents really did much looking after us to begin with but still it is a job that I take very seriously.” 

After Rebekah is done talking I feel a variety of emotions; warmth at the thought that Klaus is happy because of me, the tiniest bit of respect for how serious Rebekah is about looking out for her brother, but the first thing I do is let out a slight giggle at Rebekah’s use of the word uncouth. 

“What’s so funny?” Rebekah asks mildly offended “I just gave you  _ such _ a heartfelt apology.” 

“Oh no it’s not that. It’s just uncouth isn’t a very common word to use. Very proper sounding.”

“Oh yes, well you have my dearly deceased mother to thank for that she wanted all of her children to have the best education imaginable so she sent my brothers to an all boys school and me to an all girls school where they forced us into the ugliest clothes you could ever imagine and made us take all of these really weird classes like Proper English. It was awful to say the least and very boring.”

“It sure sounds like it. Anyways…” I trail off when my phone chimes off with my signature  _ Friends  _ clapping ringtone. I quickly look down to see a text from Katherine reading…

_ “Hey home phone just rang. It was from the hospital letting you know about your dr. appointment and just wanted to make sure you knew since you were wasting your night away with hot british stranger.”  _

I try to type out a reply but I am interrupted by phone chiming off once again with two similar texts from Bonnie and Elena. Not being able to hide the fond smile off my face I send a quick group text letting them know that I am currently heading to my appointment now. 

Turning my attention back to Rebekah I say “Sorry about that, those were just my friends just checking to see where I am and all that stuff.”

“Is it just me or did your ringtone sound remarkably like the clapping from  _ Friends _ ?”

“You’re a  _ Friends _ fan?”

“Of bloody course I am! I personally think it is one of the greatest t.v. shows of our generation!” 

“Exactly! That show is one of the only things that got me through the terror that is public high school. Well that and my friends of course.” 

“Was public high school  _ really _ that bad?”

“About as bad that whole Joey and Rachel relationship was in season ten.”

“Sheesh. Maybe the all girls school wasn’t so bad afterall”

“Yep.” I reply popping the p before checking the time on my phone and realising that I now only have a little over twenty minutes to catch a subway and make it to the hospital. I quickly turn my attention back to Rebekah and hurriedly talk to her.

“Hey I’m sorry but I have to go. So I guess this is goodbye….”

“Do you maybe want to grab some lunch sometime?” Rebekah asks.

“Wait what?”

Shrugging her shoulders Rebekah continues on “I just figured it would be nice to get a chance to know the girl that my brother is seeing. Besides, maybe we can plot ways to get him to watch  _ Friends  _ because get this he has never seen it!” 

Laughing a self satisfied smile spreads across my face “I actually have already taken care of that. Your brother in an effort to impress me bought the whole entire series on Amazon Prime for us to watch because I talked about how much I loved when we first got hot chocolate together. We just finished up season one last night.” 

“Well that is fantastic! I’m impressed my brother rarely ever does something that thoughtful. So now back to lunch how about this Saturday around 12:30? Does that sound good? Great!”

For a second I stand there completely confused because I didn’t even give Rebekah an answer about lunch before she seemed to finalize the plans for a lunch that I haven’t even agreed to. I quickly try to come up with a plausible excuse as to why I can’t go out so I don’t have to eat lunch with the sister of the guy that thanks to the tumor in my stomach I’m going to have to break up with. Though looking down at the time I realize I don’t have time to argue because  _ crap _ I now only have around twenty minutes to get to my chemo appointment. 

“Um sure why not? I’m sorry I really have to go so I can make it to my doctor’s apoitm… sorry sorry I meant job in time. You can go ahead and umm get my number from your brother so I guess I’ll see you Saturday…. Bye!”

I quickly leave a very confused Rebekah behind before walking as fast as my stomach which is currently experiencing some very painful spasms. Thankfully, the subway station by Klaus’s apartment building isn’t very crowded so it isn’t hard at all to swipe my metrocard and find a seat before collapsing down into it. When I am all settled and all alone for the first time all morning I start to reflect on everything that has happened last night and that is when I once again reflect on the events of last night and this morning. The only words I can use to sum it all up is  _ muck me. _ What was supposed to be a one to two date relationship is now an official relationship where very soon I am going to be having lunch with his sister. I take a deep painful and shuddering breath coming to the realization I now need to break up with Klaus because at least for now I can’t afford to have anyone else around me that I can hurt if the chemo doesn’t work. I go back and forth what would be the least painful and easiest way to break up with him. I quickly decide to do it over text and yes I know it is a pretty cowardly way to break up with somebody you have only been officially dating for a day, but I just know if i were to do it in person one look into those ice blue eyes or hear that sweet British lit of his I would be done for. I take one last chance to strengthen my resolve and pull out my phone and begin to type. 

_ Hey sorry about this morning. I shouldn’t have yelled at you, you were just trying to help. Though trust me I am completely fine. I think and I know it sounds weird but I think it’s hormones you can ask your sister about it. Anyways I’ve been thinking and last night was a mistake. I just think this is moving too quickly and we’re both at different places…. _

Shaking my head, deleting whatever I have just written and trying to type a new message again, again, and again. I try to tell myself repeatedly _Come on Caroline you are a Forbes.You can do anything you put your mind to_ _and breaking up with Klaus is no different._ _Besides you have only known this guy for like two weeks what’s the big deal I mean it’s not like you’re in love with him or anything. Also you would be doing Klaus a favor by breaking up with him. He is a hot, kind, if not a bit self centered millionaire and you are just a paranoid neurotic control freak on steroids who could possibly die of cancer. If you break up with him he will probably be all tangled up with her hot blonde rich lawyer counterpart a week later and won’t even remember my name._ Though there is a separate smaller voice in my head saying _Don’t do this Caroline. You aren’t in love with him now, but you could be. Don’t you owe it to yourself to try? Besides the chemo could be working and your tumor will be gone within the month! Besides yes while you are a paranoid neurotic control freak on steroids you have a great ash._ In the end my resolve to break up with Klaus diminishes (unsurprisingly) and my selfishness wins and the text ends up looking something like this….

_ Hey sorry I yelled this morning, you were just trying to help. To tell you the truth I have been feeling a bit off lately. I am pretty sure it's just stress though because I am literally writing around five papers right now since it is so close to the end of the year and when you combine them all together it is literally over one hundred in total. Perks of being a journalism major and such. Also while talking to your sister who I might add is very… interesting she said she tried to get you to watch Friends ages ago, but when I talked to you about it you seemed to have never heard about it. What’s up with that? _

Klaus’s reply is almost instant  _ 1\. No need to apologize for earlier love. We can all get a little bit temperamental at times. Just make sure you are taking care of yourself if you are sick. 2. It’s okay to say it as it is my sister while I love her very dearly can be a bit of a bitch at times and she knows it 3. Now that I think about it, what you said earlier really hurt my feelings. You can make it up to me though if you want if you would be willing to accompany me for some lunch this Saturday?  _

I quickly type out a reply because I know we are nearing my stop at the subway station.  _ 1\. Sorry again for yelling at you. You were actually being surprisingly sweet and I shouldn’t have done that, but thank you for forgiving me! 2. Alright your sister can be a bit of a bitch, but to be fair I can be one too. 3. Also hate to break it to you but I am already having lunch with your sister on Saturday because she invited me, well if I’m being honest told me that the two of us are getting lunch together on Saturday. Sorry :( _

I quickly put my phone away and when the subway pulls to a complete stop I am already out the door and running well more like power walking while awkwardly clutching my stomach to the hospital. I am actually lucky and get to the hospital right on time and I’m led back to the room that has the single white hard backed leather chair that for at least one day a week is my second home. I quietly scroll through my phone while waiting for my typical nurse Nicole to come in with her typical  _ I’m sorry that you have cancer face _ and a bag of chemicals that is basically stabbed into my arm. A couple of minutes Nicole comes in and since she is usually alone I’m quite surprised to see my doctor Dr. Ornell standing right behind her. Quite surprisingly I have only seen my doctor twice since my diagnosis one or two times. The first was after my first chemotherapy session and once a week or so ago to discuss taking a new medicine along with my chemo sessions. 

“Oh um Dr. Ornell, it's nice to see you again. Sorry I completely forgot that you were coming here today.” 

“Oh no worries Caroline, it’s nice to see you again too. I do wish it were under different circumstances though. Now we can either wait to start talking once your nurse has your chemotherapy set up or now. Which would you prefer?” 

“I’m fine with now.”

“Great.” Dr Ornell replies pulling over one of those rolly stools and sits down across from me while Nicole gives me a little wave before prepping my arm for the IV line. As we go through the typical questions that doctors ask in situations like this. She does look a bit worried though when I tell her about my near fainting spells though even when I’m taking my medications. By the time Nicole is gone Dr. Ornell’s face looks very worried when I finish telling her about the frequent stomach cramps I’ve been getting. When Nicole is gone she asked me “Caroline would you be okay with perhaps taking your MRI this week instead of next week?”

I can feel my heart rapidly pick up its pace as I ask “Yeah that would be fine. Is everything okay?”

“Yes, well at least I think so. Though I am a bit concerned about these fainting spells you have been telling me about as well as your frequent stomach pains. The medicines I prescribed you while they don’t stop these types of things completely, they should at least be occurring less often. For all I know the medications I prescribed could just not be working, but since we are only a week out from when your MRI was scheduled I figure it couldn’t hurt to get it over with so that way we will have a general idea if this chemo drug is working and if it isn’t we can decide how to go from their. Will that be okay?” 

“Ye-yes that would be fine” I am able to stutter out despite the fact that the cold chill of fear is starting to overtake my body.

Dr. Ornell must be able to tell how worried I am because she gives me a warm comforting smile and says “Don’t worry Caroline I’m sure you’re fine. I don’t think I’ll see you again today but I’ll go put in an appointment for you at the MRI machine and then once you're done here I’ll have Nicole take you down. Then when I have the results ready I’ll make sure to call you right away so we can go over the results.” 

She gives me a parting handshake before walking out the door and when the slow clicking of her Mary Janes has begun to fade away I start to quietly sniffle which soon turns into sobs. The only thing I could do was think  _ why me? What did I do to deserve this? I mean I have always been a nice and kind person, I get good grades, and I have done all the right things. Take my vitamins, exercise regularly, and don’t eat a ton of junk food.  _ These are the thoughts that keep bouncing around my head throughout the rest of my session, and soon enough it is time to go get my MRI. If Nicole notices I’ve been crying she says nothing which I am incredibly grateful for. Though I am surprised she leaves in my IV though and when I ask her about this she says 

“Oh it’s just so they can give you a small sedative so that you know you don't experience the after effects of chemo and end up choking on your own throw up while getting your MRI done because trust me the custodians here would be pissed.” 

I couldn’t help but let out a weak chuckle at Nicole’s attempt at humor as she leads me down to x-ray level where the huge MRI machine awaits and soon enough a small little vile of medicine is being slipped into my IV that makes my eyes feel heavy and I soon slip off into a restless sleep. Next time I open my eyes I’m still lying down on the cool MRI table but instead of being on the inside I’m on the outside of the machine. My surroundings still a bit foggy from whatever they gave me I try to sit up but I’m finding it a bit hard until I feel an arm wrap around my shoulder and help me sit up along with a familiar voice

“Ease up there Caroline. There you go.”

“Lena what are you doing here?”

“Oh I finished up my morning shift and since you said that you had a chemo appointment today I thought we could go home together and since you weren’t in any of the chemo rooms I asked around and found out you were getting an MRI. Then I got here basically as soon as you were finished so they said I can wait with you till you wake up.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“Of course I did! I’m your friend, it's my job. Now come on let’s get you out of this hospital gown and into your real clothes.” 

Then with Elena’s help I‘m led out of the MRI room and we give a quick goodbye to the nurses still left in there before we go back into the changing room where I slowly change into my clothes. Once I have my regular clothes back on I surprisingly feel more awake as Elena and I walk out of the hospital and hail a taxi to take us back to the apartment. Though I don’t stay awake for too much longer though because just like after most of my chemo appointments, one of the first things I do when I step into the door is throw up into the toilet and once I’m done I’m lead back to my room by Elena who gingerly pulls the covers up over me and presses a wet washcloth to my forehead and leaves me with a “Holler at me if you need anything” and a quick kiss on the cheek. When I wake up from my nap the first thing I do is check my phone to see what looks like a text from Klaus and an unknown number who I assume is Rebekah. I read the one from Klaus first where he basically pouts that I’m spending Saturday with his sister instead of him and the text from Rebekah asks where do I want to grab lunch. In the end I promise to grab a bite to eat with him on Sunday and Rebekah and I decide to grab a bite to eat at this deli place that she loves. After I put my phone down I go out to the living room where a nervous Katherine, Elena, and Bonnie are sitting and when they notice me they quickly all start rushing me with all kinds of questions…  _ Are you okay? Is the chemo not working? Why did you have the MRI this week? _ I answer them all explaining that my doctor is a bit worried about the symptoms that I have been continuing to experience so she wanted to go ahead and do my MRI now because we are only a week out from my six week checkup. This seems to soothe their spirits at least a tiny bit as I tell them about my date with Klaus minus the explicit details of course. I’m once again met with a disapproving look from Katherine when I say now that we are official and that I’m grabbing lunch with his sister this Saturday. Keeping true to her promise Katherine doesn’t give me a word of criticism but I can see it in her eyes and that is enough for me. 

“Listen Katherine I know I  _ know _ I shouldn’t be doing this. Okay? I have only known this guy for two weeks, and minus the fact that I have cancer these have been some of the best two weeks of my life. Klaus is just so kind and funny and inventive and I know it so fucking selfish of me to lead him on in a relationship that could be going nowhere. It’s just” I start to stumble over my words once again overwhelmed by tears and that is when Katherine pulls me into a tight hug and starts softly talking to me. 

“Hey hey Care it’s okay. Alright? That look on my face that you just saw wasn’t because of you dating that guy it’s because the only thing I could think of how unfair life is that somebody like you who is one of the kindest, most courageous, and selfless people I have ever met has to deal with something as fucked up as cancer. Okay? I said this the other day and I’ll say this again. No matter what you choose to do whether it be have me breakup with him for you, marry him, or you know help you break into what is sure to be an uber fancy apartment and steal whatever you want to, I am here for you. We all are. Right girls?” 

Elena and Bonnie give murmurs of agreement and soon we are all in a tearful group hug. Then later on in an effort to cheer me up Katherine orders pizza and a chemo approved salad for me from a nearby pizza place and she rents the cheesy horror film that I love  _ Happy Death Day _ for us to watch all together. The next couple of days pass by slowly with me having to work myself to the bone with going to classes at Columbia and working a couple of small shifts at the bookstore which isn’t fun when surprisingly even two days later on Friday I am still recovering from the after effects of my chemothemopary. Though the one thing that is consistent though is the air of apprehension that seems to still hang over the apartment as we await the results from my MRI everytime our little home phone rings we practically trip over each other trying to answer it. Another thing that remains constant is actually a good thing are the daily conversations I have with Klaus. It seems as every minute that I’m not at my job or working on school work I spend talking to Klaus either through dozens of text or hours of phone calls. The more I talk to him the more I see myself starting to possibly fall in love with him and I hate it; because every time he makes laugh with some silly story about him and his old college friend Marcel my stomach starts to clench with unbearable pain, every blushing compliment he gives me I feel a wave of dizziness start to overcome me. 

Before I know it Saturday afternoon is here and I am preparing for my lunch with Rebekah trying to come up with something cute to wear and once I find something I give a quick wave goodbye to the girls before catching the subway that would get me closest to the deli Rebekah and I are meeting at. When I arrive at the deli I quickly find Rebekah sitting at one of the outdoor patio tables and sit down next to her. We quickly order our sandwiches and get to talking and I’m surprised to find out that I genuinely like her. Besides our mutual love for  _ Friends _ I find out that we both love high fashion (but unlike me she can actually afford to buy it), being organized and planning events, musical theater (when she tells me she saw  _ Hamiliton _ with the original cast my shriek practically reaches inhumane levels), and more. We just finish discussing the whole  _ “We were on a break!”  _ debacle which we actually agree that while they both weren’t completely right Rachel was more right than Ross was and this actually makes me quite happy because most people I talk to seem to think it’s the other way around when Rebekah asks a question that makes me freeze. 

“Hey the other day when you were leaving Nik told me that you had to get to your job, but when you were leaving you started to say your doctor's appointment bur sbitched back to job. What was that about?” 

I trip over my words trying to think of a good answer when my phone starts ringing thankfully at least temporarily ending this conversation. I tell Rebekah that I have to answer this and then I’ll be back and not waiting for an answer. I get up from the table and go off to a street corner to see who's calling. When I see the caller ID if my heart froze when Rebekah asked her question it all but bursts out of chest now when I see it is the hospital. Gathering my courage I swipe up and answer the call.

“Hello?”

“Hi Caroline.” I hear Dr. Ornell’s voice rings out over the other line.

Shocked to hear Dr. Ornell’s voice I ask quickly “Are my MRI results ready?”

“Yes, that is what I would like to talk to you about. I have some free time right now if you would like to come over now and discuss the results.”

Hearing the somber tone to her voice respond right away “Yeah of course. I'll be there as soon as I can.”

“See you then.” 

When the call has ended I jog back up to Rebekah and make up some lie that a friend has an emergency that they need help with and thankfully she seems to believe so she wishes me luck and we say our goodbyes. Then I am full on running to the subway that will take me to the hospital and when I arrive in the linoleum tiled floor of the lobby I go up to the receptionist who leads me back to Dr. Ornell’s office. I really only have only been in Dr. Ornell’s office twice. The first time was when I was first diagnosed and the second time was when I came to discuss my treatment options. I am there for all of but three minutes when Dr. Ornell walks through the door and we exchange a few pleasantries before she pulls up my MRI with a sympathetic expression on her face. As we continue to go through it my heart continues to plummet further and further down because while I don’t get all of the fancy medical terms that she uses I do get enough to know the chemo isn’t working. The tumor hasn’t gone away and in fact it’s spreading. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	14. Klaus POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me start off my saying I am so so so so sorry I have been gone for forever. The only thing I can say is after I posted the previous chapter I was swamped with lots of stressful school work and I just couldn't find the inspiration to write and I did sometimes try to force myself to write but it was just getting bad for my mental health so I took a break. (So sorry again) Anyways I am back with a new medium sized chapter where we see a small amount of Klaus's insecurties because I have decided that I am going to go the route that Mikael wasn't just a controlling father but an abusive one as well (From now on whenever their is mention of abuse in this story I will put a trigger warning. Would you also like to see a backstory incorporating Henrik?) Now that my inspiration is back instead of giving you guys times like once a week I have decided to make a chapter goal for each month so that way I don't put pressure on myself and I don't let you guys down, so depending if people are still interested expect to have 2-3 more chapters by the end of March! Though since I have been gone so long I understand if I lost some readers and depending on the response to this chapter I may drop the story, so if you want me to continue please drop a comment! Like always I love getting kudos and feedback (even if it is completely negative) Enjoy :)

I couldn’t help the small disappointed frown that crossed my face once the elevator door shut blocking me from Rebekah and Caroline after Rebekah in typical Rebekah fashion dragged Caroline off to most likely question her. When my sister found out about Caroline she may have been excited at first, but that doesn’t mean Rebekah is completely free of suspicion about Caroline. Rebekah is the most protective one out of all my siblings and is incredibly suspicious of every girl one of us sees. Which I think is completely ironic for someone who would gladly drop her knickers anytime any moving warm-blooded male showed the slightest hint of interest in her. Rebekah still doesn’t like Finn’s wife Sage, but to be fair none of us do. That is actually one of the few things my siblings and I actually agree on, that Sage is a bit of a witch. Shaking my head I go to make myself a cup of tea and reminisce over last night’s events. Part of me is still in disbelief that I practically asked Caroline to be my girlfriend and even more so that she actually said yes. My train of thought is interrupted by the subtle ding of my phone and I look down and smile when I see the text is from Caroline. In the text she basically apologizes for getting snappy at me this morning and not so subtly tells me that Rebekah is a witch because in truth she is. I am pleasantly surprised if not a bit disappointed when I learn that Caroline and I can’t have lunch together on Saturday because she is already going to lunch with my sister. Though I couldn’t help but frown when remembering the little spat Caroline and I had this morning. 

Many days later, despite the fact that I accepted her apology wholeheartedly, the way Caroline was acting was still nagging at me, but I don’t have time to dwell on it because it is now Sunday and time for me to return to my ever so thrilling job at the law company. Already used to the machinations of the day wake up, have tea, arrive at work, go through long boring meetings, ignore my dull secretary who keeps on trying to shamelessly flirt with me, and on and on plus a few glasses of bourbon until it is finally time to go on. This means I was quite surprised to see Elijah come into my office right before I was about to leave to go home because despite the fact that we both work in the same place I rarely ever see him but in passing or when we are in meetings together. 

Drawing my attention away from the files I was putting up I turn my attention back to my brother and ask “Why hello brother. To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence?” 

“Don’t tell me you have forgotten brother. Today is the day we are supposed to have our family dinner  _ Fantaisie Nourriture _ to finally celebrate you joining the company.” 

_ Oh that.  _ To be completely honest I did completely forget about the dinner Elijah practically forced everyone in our dear family to agree to go to a family dinner, Finn’s ever so annoying wife included at a restaurant that was even too pompous for my tastes called _ Fantaisie Nourriture _ that literally means fancy food in French. Only somebody as pompous as my brother would choose to go to a restaurant with that ridiculous name. 

I quickly mask my surprise and try to hide my disate for what is sure to be a boring evening and say “Why of course not. I was just getting my papers all ready so I can drop them off at my apartment. Wouldn’t want those to get forgotten at the restaurant or stolen, would we? I’ll meet you and our family there after I drop off these papers. Is that alright?”

Seemingly buying my lie Elijah says “Why of course not brother. I guess I’ll see you there, and the table is under the name Mikaelson. Goodbye.” 

After we bid each other goodbye I quickly make my way to my apartment and drop off my files for work before making my way to the restaurant. Once I have all of my papers put away safely I quickly leave my apartment building and hail a taxi to take me to what is sure to be one of the dullest nights of my life. By the looks of it I am the last one to arrive at the restaurant because when I walk into the widely lit room I see every one of my siblings and Sage of course seated at one of the many tables in the restaurant and of course Kol is the only one who isn’t dressed appropriately. Everybody who is at the table is dressed in their typical suits and fancy dresses besides Kol never being one to listen to others is wearing an old pair of jeans and t-shirt with a pair of sneakers. I couldn’t help but smile at knowing for a fact that my dearest mother and father are probably rolling around in their graves at Kol’s lack of propriety. That was one of the few things I have always admired about my little brother is that even when my parents were still alive for the most part he couldn’t care less about what they told and asked him to do, but it was also a source of envy for me because despite the fact that I hated my father at best a small part of me always strove to please him know matter the cost. When I sit down at the table I exchange quick greetings with my siblings and spend the most time saying hello to Finn because he is the only sibling I haven’t seen since my move to the states. As expected the beginning of the dinner drags on quite slowly and the most exciting thing that happens is Elijah giving a toast in my honor. That is at least till I hear a voice that has a ring of familiarity to it…..

“Come on Stefan, why do we have to be here!?” I turn around and see what looks like Caroline’s friend Katherine, wait no, Elena I realize looking at her straight hair being towed into the restaurant by a young man who I can only assume is Stefan. 

“Relax, Lena, you have been wholed up in the apartment these past few days. I just thought it would be good for you to get out of the house for a few days and spend some time with your incredibly sweet and thoughtful boyfriend who spent a butt load of money getting us this reservation by the way. Besides it’s probably safer for Caroline if you do get out of the apartment for a while and I’m not just talking about tonight. Maybe you can stay at my place for a couple of days?” 

Seeming to relax a bit Elena says “I’m sorry Stefan. I know you’re just trying to be nice and all I just feel bad for Caroline. For you know leaving her at a time like this….” 

At the sound of Caroline’s name I start to really pay attention to Elena’s conservation who I now can safely assume is her boyfriend. As their conversation continues I can’t help but feel concern start to bubble up inside of me and wonder if Caroline is okay. I can distanlly recall the conservation I had with Rebekah the other day about Caroline and the way Rebekah noticed her strange behavior as well when they were talking together in the lobby of my apartment building when they first met. 

“Listen Elena I love Caroline just as much as the next person. I mean come on she is probably my best friend in the whole world. So when I say this I’m saying this with care…. just because Caroline has ca-” 

Right before Stefan can finish whatever he is saying he exclaims “Oww! What the heck was that for Elena?” 

That, I noticed was Elena stomping on the poor man’s foot after it appears that she has noticed me making me all the more confused. What was so important about Caroline that I couldn’t hear? I watch the couple as Elena tries to alert him to my presence with her eyes and not so subtly mouthing my name. I watch with a small amount of amusement as Stefan’s eyes widen when he finally gets what Elena is getting at. Though that amusement quickly fades as I try to overhear their conversation that has turned into a hushed one that I can’t hear at all; only that it is about Caroline. As I watch them make their way to a table a few feet away from ours and I feel a strong urge to follow them and make myself known so I could figure out what exactly they were saying about Caroline, but with my family watching it would be too risky for a number of reasons. Number one: doing so would alert Elena and Stefan that I overheard their conversation and something tells me that I most likely don’t want to let them know I overheard that. Number two: doing something like that would lead to questions from my siblings. Number three: I would have to answer said questions and those answers involve a certain blonde beauty that I would prefer not to tell my siblings about, so as of now I decide to leave it be. Except that’s not to say I don’t try and glance over at the happy couple’s table every few minutes. After I am finally able to forget about Elena and Stefan our joyus family dinner returns to a down right abymissal pace. Finally, what seems like hours later we have said our goodbyes and I’m walking down the street trying to find a taxi when my phone starts ringing. I look down and see Caroline’s name flashing across the screen and I immediately swipe up to answer the call. 

“Why hello love, What prey tale inspired you to call me?” 

As Caroline let out a light hearted chuckle I couldn’t help but feel my heart swell. “Well usually when one of your best friends calls you and tells you that your boyfriend was creepily staring at her and her boyfriend almost their whole entire dinner I find it perfectly reasonable to call your boyfriend to find out if either A. You’re secretly in love with my best friend and are only dating me as means to get to her or B. You’re secretly a crazy person who likes to spy on young and attractive college girls. ” 

Laughing I could feel the smile that appears whenever I talk to Caroline start to spread across my face. “Well good news is I am not in love with your best friend, bad news is that there is this girl that I really fancy. It’s this really beautiful girl with blonde hair and blue eyes who may I add is pretty good in the end.” 

“Well I’m sure if the girl were here she would say the guy wasn't half bad himself” Caroline responds with a sly chuckle but I couldn’t help notice how it sounded... weaker almost. 

Though pushing those thoughts away as I start to feel a swell of fire start to build up inside of me at Caroline’s admiration; trying to hide the eagerness in my voice I ask “Well then perhaps you could come over to my place and we can have a repeat of the other night?” 

“As much fun as that sounds I can’t. I’m currently in the middle of what’s supposed to be a girl bonding night with Katheirne and Bonnie and it’s no boys aloud. Though maybe-” but I don’t get to hear what Caroline was going to say because a violent rack of coughs seemed to have overcome her. 

As her coughs finally settle down I immediately ask “Are you okay?”

“I’m” I hear Caroline pause for a moment as if deciding on what to say next “ Sick, but don’t worry I only caught it after our date so you don’t have to worry about being sick and missing out on all of your big importantly lawyer stuff.” 

I could feel my worries from earlier start to dissipate; I mean it was probably a bit crazy of me to think something serious was going on with Caroline that he wasn’t telling me. Right? 

“Well, love that’s a relief. Are you okay?” 

“I’ll be okay. I’m mostly worried about Elena though; she is a very empathetic person who likes to take care of people hence why she is training to be a nurse and she wants to be around to help but she can’t because being around me would risk the health of the patients at the hospital she is interning at.” 

“Oh, that makes sense why your friend looked like she would rather be anywhere else besides that restaurant.” 

“Ah ha! So you were eavesdropping!” Caroline exclaims victorilaily. 

I quickly try to backpedal but Caroline isn’t letting me have it and finally give in “Alright, I may have been eavesdropping a bit , but it was only because it seemed like they were talking about you and they seemed worried so naturally I was worried as well.” 

“Alright, I’ll let you eavesdropping on my friend slide only because you were worried about me. Though if you do end up breaking up with me for Elena I’ll be super p-ed.” 

“What’s got you so convinced that I’ll get with your best friend? That seems like the kind of stuff that would only happen in movies. Also, no offense love, but she seems a bit…. dull” 

“Alright first of all don’t call Elena dull she is just… tamer compared to me and the rest of my friends. Second of all you would be surprised. Before Elena and her boyfriend Stefean became the sickly sweet high school sweetheart couple we know, love, and have to put up with sometimes Elena dated a guy named Damon. Damon, coincidentally was Stefean’s brother and Damon was dating Elena as a way to both mess with Stefan who even when he was a awkward high schooler was hopelessly in love with all things Elena Gilbert and Damon being the nick that he is was also dating Elena so he could get with Katheirne who as you know is her sister.” 

“But wait aren’t they identical twins?” 

“Yep. Long story short one very messy break up and a very angry twin sister hell bent on revenge later Elena and Stefan have been together ever since. Anyways, since I am sick and out of commission for a couple of days, why don’t I text when I get better and maybe I can show you a traditional Caroline Forbes date night at my place?” 

“While yes that does sound quite fun don’t you think it might me a bit crowded with you and all of your friends there? Besides I don’t think the other twin.. Katherine…. likes me very much.” 

“Well you don’t have to worry about that… Katherine hates everybody. Also I’m sure I can arrange so Elena and Bonnie can happily spend the night with their boyfriends while Kat can do whatever Katheirne does when she goes out by herself. So how does that sound?” 

“That sounds good.” 

“Perfect! I’ll get to planning right away. That should be something fun to keep me distracted while battling this bug. Bye! Can’t wait to see you!”

“Goodnight, love.” After we hang up I hail a taxi which has almost become second nature by now and make my way back to my place. 

It is three days later almost a week from when I last saw Caroline when she texts me “Hey I’m officially a-okay and my friends have agreed to let me have the apartment for the night. If you’re free want to come by my apartment around and I can treat you to a typical Caroline Forbes night in i.e. the greasiest pizza you can find, cheap wine, a Disney movie, say around 7:30?, and if you let me have the last slice there may or not be some….. special entertainment in your future ;)” 

For a second I stand there in the middle of the street with the idea of having a repeat of the other night’s activities causes a slow heat to build up inside of me. I quickly type out a reply telling her that sounds perfect and I interaly thank Elijah for giving me the day off tomorrow before continuing on to my apartment to change out of my work clothes. Every day after work I am able to get out of those stuffy suits I am forced to wear. I always breathe an internal sigh of relief as I change into my much more comfortable and much more flattering street clothes of mine. Once I am all dressed and ready to go I frown realising it is only 6:23 and I still have almost another hour till my date with Caroline. Though I quickly think what’s the harm in showing up early? I mean she knows I am coming and she is by herself so it’s not like I would be introducing up on her friends. Right? Right, so I decide to leave on the early side and just to be safe have the taxi I pick up stop by a flower stand so I can get Caroline more flowers. Finally, right around 7 the taxi pulls up to Caroline’s apartment building and I make my way up the rickety set of stairs leading up to her fourth floor apartment as the elevator looks like it is due to collapse at any second. Once I locate her apartment I knock on the worn green painted door before hearing the voice that fills me with butterflies as if I were a bumbling school girl “Sorry, be there in a minute!” 

Then the door quickly swings open but I am only able to catch a glimpse of Caroline’s golden before the door slams in my face and her voice now about five octaves higher practically screeches “Klaus! What the heck are you doing here!”

Not the reaction I was hoping for but I can work with it. “Well, if I recall correctly I was invited over here for a romantic date night filled with what honestly sounds like spectacular dinner and even though we’re grown adults cartoon movies ment for children.” 

“Okay, first of all there is no law that says adults can’t watch Disney movies and most Disney movies actually have a lot of jokes that go over kids heads. Second of all you’re like a half an hour early.” 

I couldn’t help but feel my heart deflate a little bit at the iration I heard in Caroline’s voice and she finished her sentence “Sorry, I should’ve called ahead to see if it was alright it was stupid of me to think that it was alright that I could come over early.” 

“What! Oh my gosh I am not mad that you came over early. It’s just that I…. look like a complete mess and trust me you do not want to see me like this.” 

“Really, that’s what you were worried about? I personally think that know matter what you wear you will always look positively stunning. Now it would be great if you could let me in unless you want me to leave and pace around the street outside your apartment building making me look like a complete arse for thirty minutes until it’s 7:30.”

“Okay, fine you got me I don’t look awful I’m….. naked! Ah ha, yes I am naked! So why don’t you stay outside for a minute while I change than I can let you in. Okay?” 

I let out an amused chuckle and smirk as I said “Okay so now let me get this straight, you were planning on opening the door completely naked to talk to someone who you could only assume was a stranger. Also sweetheart if you actually are naked that actually bodes quite well for the both us as I can think of quite a few things to do to you that I think you would most enjoy.” 

“Alright, you got me for real this time. As nice as that does sound I am not naked, we also aren’t doing any of that stuff until you let me have that last slice of pizza, and well while I don’t look like crap and I’m not naked what I am wearing is not something you want to wear for a date with your hot new British boyfriend.” 

“I honestly think you're making a bigger deal out of this than it should be.” 

“Trust me it is.” 

“Try me.” 

“Okay, fine I took a shower earlier and since I was cold I decided to put on my Olaf onesie from Frozen.” 

“What the bloody hell is an Olaf and what does that have to do with frozen stuff?” I ask completely confused. 

This is when the door swings back open revalin an incredulous Caroline with slightly wet blonde hair wearing the most ridiculous outfit I have ever seen as practically yells “What the hell! You haven’t even heard of Frozen!” 

As we look at eachother the only thing I think is  _ here we go again. _


	15. Caroline POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys here is Ch 15! I will say I am quite proud of myself for getting a new chapter published only one week after my last one. As of right now I hope to at least get Ch 16 out by the end of March and if I am feeling really inspired maybe 17-18. I am also working on a new story titled the Blonde, the Brit, and the Baby a typical human au accidental pregnancy strangers to lovers story! I hope to have the first chapter up later this week so let me know if anybody would be intrested in that. Also in this story would anyone be interested in seeing a side Kalijah pairing? Anyways like always please enjoy and kudos/any type of feedback is greatly appreciated and just to let me know if you guys are still enjoying the story. Also be preapared the shit is getting pretty damn close to the fan. Enjoy ;)

For a second Klaus just stood there looking me up and down in my Olaf onesie an amused smile starting to creep up on his face and just as he was about to say something I quickly interrupted him “Don’t laugh!” 

He tried and failed to hide a small chuckle “Now, why would I do that? While you're dressed in what can I only assume is a hillbilly snowman with those buck teeth.” 

“What, no. Were you even listening to me? I said it was Olaf you know from the movie Frozen?” 

“And once again I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about.” 

I am once again caught off guard about Klaus’s knowledge or lack thereof of mainstream pop culture movies and shows “So, you haven’t even heard of Frozen? I mean I guess I can understand not seeing it because sadly most adults don’t even want to watch cartoon movies, but when it came out six years ago it literally took over the world.” 

“I don’t know what to tell you about love. Maybe you just think all of these movies and tv shows are more popular than they actually are.” 

Snorting, I say “Yeah right when Frozen came out they literally had Frozen themed toilet paper if that doesn’t say popularity and fantastic movie I don’t know what else does.” 

Giving me that irritating yet endearing smirk he says “Whatever you say sweetheart.” 

“You know what I am going to prove to you once again how impeccable my taste is by showing you Frozen! So come on in and take a seat and be prepared to watch one of the greatest movies ever.” I say opening the door wide open so he could come in. 

“I can already tell tonight is going to be delightful. Oh by the way love I picked these up for you on the way here.” Klaus says as he hands me a beautiful bouquet of peach colored flowers. 

Smiling I instinctively reach up and give him a quick kiss on the lips “Thank you! These are beautiful, now why don’t you take a seat on the couch while I put these in some water and get changed so you don’t have to look at me dressed as a dorky snowman all night.” 

Out of the corner of my eye I see Klaus plop down on our old cloth couch “Actually I think whatever that thing is that you’re wearing is growing on me.”

“Really?” 

“Yes, though I will it admit it may or may not have something to do with the fact that it provides a particularly flattering view of your chest.” 

“Wait, what?” I gasp looking down and seeing that the top few buttons of my onesie are indeed undone showing off the tiniest bit of my lacy cornflower blue bra. Quite indignantly I shriek “What the hell Klaus, why didn’t you say anything?” 

“So you’re telling me you didn’t mean to do that to impress me?” 

“Um no.. if I was trying to impress you which I was going to know way in hell would I wear this onesie. I actually had a whole different outfit that I planned to wear for tonight. It was this perfect outfit. It was this really nice mini skirt and when I say mini skirt I say  _ mini _ skirt and an old long sleeve crop top I have had for years so it would be extra nice and  _ tight _ . Though since you seem to really like my onesie I think I will continue to wear it sans unbuttoned of course.” 

“Oh come on sweetheart don’t be like that!”

Laughing I say “You made your bed and now you have to lie in it.” 

He grumbles something I am unable to hear before he says “I’m glad you aren’t sick anymore love. You look much healthier than you did last time I saw you.” as I finish putting the flowers back into the vase making me freeze in my place and making my heart speed up. 

Because  _ yes _ while I do look healthier the fact of the matter is I have never been sicker in my life. Funny how those things work, right? My mind quickly darts back to the day almost a week in a half ago that once again shattered my life….

_ One in a half weeks ago….  _

_ After the doctor’s revelation I just sat there in a complete state of shock…. the chemo wasn’t working. For a second I just sat there in a daze before asking Dr. Ornell how?  _

_ The sympathetic tone she responded with made me feel sick to my stomach (pun not intended) “I know this sounds awful but I don’t know. The thing with chemo as there are many different types of drugs used for chemo there is no predicting how it will affect the tumors. It could work wonders and make them disappear completely, it could shrink them to the point where they can be removed for surgery, it could do nothing, or in some very rare cases make the tumors grow rapidly.”  _

_ Now this is when I start to get angry because I will be so incredibly pissed if the weeks I spent getting pumped full of drugs is what ended up killing me.  _

_ As if reading my mind Dr. Ornell says “Don’t worry if the chemo drugs we used were making it worse and while not ideal your tumor growth could have been worse. If you look at this scan here your original tumor has only grown about a centimeter and the new small tumor growth that we are seeing is happening inwards more towards the center of your stomach and not outwards towards your lungs and other essential organs. I also believe that the chemo while not killing the tumors is slowing the tumor growth.”  _

_ “So what am I supposed to do, be happy that hey I’m dying but at least it’s going to be long. slow, and painful?” I bite out somewhat snarkily. _

_ “No, what I am trying to say is while these results aren’t what we hoped for they can be approved upon. I know this is difficult but if you want to get through this we have to work together. Can you do this?”  _

_ Taking a deep breath trying to regain my composure I say “Yes, I’m sorry. Let’s continue…” _

_ “If anything I should say sorry to you that you even are here, but sadly you are. So let’s make the most out of our time together, shall we? Now there is another chemo drug we can put you on it uses some of the same reactants used to make the previous one we put you on and combines it with a couple of other variants used in other chemo drugs. It has shown to be over 63% effective in treating stomach cancer; the down side to this is that of the 37% of the people that it didn’t help 17% of those people experienced rapid tumor growth. The other drug I was thinking about starting you on while the effectiveness rate is lower at around 52% only around 2% of people experienced significant tumor growth. You can take some time to decide, but remember it is pertinent that we act as soon as-”  _

_ Interrupting her I immediately say “I want to do the first one. I mean you know what they say right…. big risk, big reward.”  _

_ “Alright, if you’re sure. Though since we don’t have much of that particular drug here I’m going to have to make some calls so we can get some here and in the meantime it will give your body to heal so to speak from the chemicals used in this previous round of chemo. I also recommend that in the meantime you at least only work at your job and at your internship two days at the most, if not quit them entirely even if it’s temporary.”  _

_ “What? I’m not going to do that”  _

_ “What I’m trying to say is besides medicine one of the best things you can do to help you for health is rest as much as you can.”  _

_ “I can’t do that though! I mean I need my job! Without me and all of my roommates will be short on money for the apartment and”  _

_ I start to ramble on rapidly until Dr. Ornell interrupts me “Take a deep breath Caroline. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. It was just a mere suggestion besides from what you have told me about your friends and the limited reactions I have had with that nurse friend of yours Elena they would be more than happy to let you slow things down a bit. Alright?”  _

_ “Okay.’ I say before saying my goodbyes to Dr. Ornell and her telling me she will call me when she has my stuff for chemo ready.  _

_ As I make my way out of Dr. Ornell’s office as I try to exit the hospital I’m a bit distracted and my mind is racing a mile a minute trying to do everything to distract me from the fact that my cancer has gotten worse . I walk through what must be my sixth pair of doors and realise I am on the long term floor for patients. Aka where the patients who live at the hospital stay like halo patients, people with those clyndar like braces, and the really sick cancer patients. My brain has finally quieted down enough to finally try and find an elevator to get me the hell out of there. I quickly spot an elator on the other side of the ward and try to make my day there quickly but before I can I collide with a nurse. After some quick apologies I make my way to leave, but not before turning to see the nurse go into an open door hospital room and when I see the patient I freeze. It’s me. Or at least what could very well be me. A young girl slightly older than me with a clean shaven head who looks like the slightest gust of wind could blow her away with the only tell tale sign of her life being the slight beeping of the heart monitor that I can vaguely hear from where I stand. The second I laid eyes on her I practically ran towards the elevator not wanting to stay in that awful place any longer and as soon as the doors of the elevator shut I just started mashing buttons not caring where I end up as long as it is anywhere but here. When the elevator doors open I vaguely remember stumbling around the cool empty halls trying to keep my heart from bursting outside of my chest before collapsing against the wall and just letting it all out. I don’t know how long I was there; it could’ve been hours, minutes, hell even years. The only thing I can remember is a voice shaking me out of my stupor.  _

_ “Caroline? Caroline, look at me!”  _

_ I bring my head up from in between my knees and see Elena’s concerned face hovered in front of me.  _

_ “E-Elena?”  _

_ “Hey, Caroline I’ve been looking all over for you. I heard from Katherine that you went to the hospital but that was an hour ago but that you never came back and when she tried calling you, you never answered.”  _

_ Sure enough I checked my phone and I had several missed texts and calls from Katherine. “Sorry, Elena it’s just that my MRI results came back and…” I start out shaikly _

_ “Oh no Care, please don’t say it.” she says her concerned expression turning into one of panic. _

_ Funnily enough seeing Elena have the same reaction I had made me feel better about mine “The chemo isn’t working and in fact the cancer is spreading. Surprise!” I finish off showing her a weak smile.  _

_ “Oh Caroline. I’m so sorry. Are you going to…….” _

_ “Die? As of right now Dr. Ornell is optimistic that the new chemo she is going to put me on will do the job especially since while I have a new small tumor growth it hasn’t started to expand to my lungs which would basically be the end of the road for me if that did happen I would be pretty much done for.”  _

_ Then for a minute we just sat there in silence before Elena started crying “I’m so sorry Caroline.” pulling me up off to the floor and into a tight hug.  _

_ “It’s okay, Lena really. I mean I should've expected this really. I have been told by one of many people that I am one of the most stubborn people alive, why should the cancerous cells taking over my body, be any different? Now come on let’s go home so we can break the news to the girls and I know you work with Dr. Ornell sometimes, do you know if she knows any self defense lessons by chance? Now come on let’s get home or Kat will kill me before the cancer does.”  _

_ Elena looks like she wants to scold me for my dark humor but against her better judgement lets out a wet augh “You’re the one who has cancer I should be the one making you laugh not the other way around.”  _

_ We probably looked like a mess as we walked out of the hospital arms around each other and faces streaked with wet mascara and our rumpled clothes. I was surprised to see as we got outside the sun had almost set and the city was just starting to light up.  _

_ “Jesus christ, Lena how long was I there?” _

_ “Long enough for Katherine to call me and threaten me into looking for you or she was going to kill me.”  _

_ We both shared a small laugh before hailing a taxi and riding home in a comfortable sort of silence that even after our laughs had a somber feel to it. When we arrived back at our apartment Katherine practically strangled me by pulling me into a tight hug, and she and Bonnie didn’t even have to ask how the appointment went when she saw the expressions on mine and Elena’s face. For a while we didn’t say or do anything besides hug and cry. After that none of us felt much like cooking or even ordering take out so we just ate cartons of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream for dinner and watching all of our favorite chick flicks. The day after that it was time to talk about where to go from there and when I suggested dropping out of school so I could continue to work at my job all of them looked at me like I was crazy. After a thorough argument and much guilting on Elena’s part (somehow I was the one with cancer and she was the one who was able to guilt me into doing what she wanted. Let me tell you that girl has a gift) it was decided that I would quit or at least take a temporary leave of absence at my job and my internship: then so I didn’t feel too terrible I would drop all of my unnecessary classes and only go to the ones required to earn my Journalism degree. Stefan when he heard the news just hugged me and Enzo practically swore that if this new chemo treatment didn’t work he would more or less kill my doctor. When I called in to my job and my internship to tell them about my situation both were very sympathetic and assured me that when I am better my position will be waiting for me.  _

_ If I thought telling my friends was hard telling my parents was even harder; my mom practically begged me to come back to Mystic Falls so I could get treated at the fancy hospital at Whitmore and she could take care of me even though we knew she couldn’t take that much time off her job; my dad was even worse he broke down in tears which even when he left me his eight year old daughter behind to go live with his husband he didn’t even cry. For the next couple of days whenever my friends looked at me their eyes were filled with sympathy and at one point it just got too much for Katherine who just locked herself in her room all day and cried. Finally, days later when I looked healthier as per the break in my chemo appointments I had Elena stay with Stefan, Bonnie stay with Stefan, and even though Elena and Stefan offered to let Katherine stay with them she said she would be find and would try and find a place to stay for the night (i.e. go to a bar and hook up with the first person that catches her fancy) On the way out of the apartment all three of them gave me disapproving looks even though they tried to hide it; wasn’t because they felt bad for Klaus; no it was because they knew the longer I kept this up would mean it was all the more likely I would have to tell him about the cancer and all the more likely he would break up with me when, no if he found out.  _

I’m immediately snapped out of my trance by Klaus saying “Well that’s not very fair is it?” 

My mouth forms a warm smile when I turn around and look at him and see nothing but a light sense of teasiness and mirth instead of the sadness and concern I’ve been used to nowadays. 

“Well to bad so sad Mr. Mikaelson. Now come on let’s drink a bunch of crappy wine and order some pizza and we can watch one of the greatest movies of all time.” 

As I sit down to join him on the couch he asks “What is it with you and the greatest of all time? Greatest hot chocolate, greatest show, greatest movie?” 

“I just have very good tastes. I mean you liked the hot chocolate right? And you definitely can agree with me on how  _ Friends  _ was one of the best t.v. shows ever made because if you don’t this would become one of shortest relationships ever and that is including my three week relationship with one Carl Brown in fifth grade. Now I don’t know about you but I think it’s time we popped open this wine and order some pizza?” I say screwing open the bottle of ten dollar wine and start pouring a small glass for me and Klaus. 

“Rest assured love I found  _ Friends  _ particularly entertaining _.  _ Though I am most interested to hear about this relationship with what did you say his name was… Carl Brown?” 

Handing him the glass wine I start to tell him all about Carl Brown “Well he asked me to be his girlfriend at recess and I accepted and for the next few weeks we ‘dated’ and by that I mean the fifth grade equivalent which was sitting together at lunch, hanging out at recess, buying each other stuff from the school store, or at least that was until our whole break up.” 

“Then let me guess he dumped you shattering your little eleven year old heart.” 

“No actually I broke up with him. It was all because he said  _ Harry Potter  _ was stupid.” 

“That seems like a pretty silly reason to break up with someone.” 

“I have very high standards.” I reply. 

“Says the person who likes to drink something I can only describe as dog sweat.” Klaus says finally I have taken a sip of the wine and I almost crack up looking at his face and the way it’s scrunched up as if he has tasted the worst thing ever. Which in all fairness he probably has. 

Laughing I say “Okay, first of all I warned you by saying it was pretty crappy and second all I’m sure even if I sprung for the twenty dollar bottle of wine you would still make that face as correct me if I’m wrong I’m sure you have never had a drink that costed less than I don’t know… a hundred dollars?” 

Klaus opens his mouth probably ready to come up with some sort of retort but closes it when he realises that I’m right. 

“See! Now you can either stay there and try to enjoy the wine or I can switch it out and I think the only other thing we have is Cheerwine.” 

“If it’s another wine I think I’ll pass if this wine here is any indication in your tastes.” 

“Oh no Cheerwine is this delicious cherry soda that you can only buy in the Vigina and North Carolian area. They sell it back in Mystic Falls so whenever me and my friends go back to visit we always make sure to stock up. Now I will admit this wine is awful but Cheerwine probably is one of the greatest things ever invented.” 

“There you go with the greatest thing again, you may want to ease up on that or I may not trust your opinions anymore.”

“Well if you keep on talking like that we are going to have a huge problem, so you can either be quite and enjoy your dog pee sweat wine or you could enjoy a delicious soda that you should feel very honored to have because even my best friend of three years and Bonnie’s boyfriend doesn’t even get offered the drink I could only describe as have been made by god. So what do you choose?” 

“I guess I’ll go with the soda then.”

“Perfect! Now stay here while I go get us sodas because I am definitely not drinking by myself.” I say getting up and bringing our two wine glasses back into our tiny cramped kitchen before starting to dig through our fridge to find the sodas. 

“So for pizza what do you want? The place we go to doesn't have any of the crazy pizzas like buffalo chicken but it does have cheese, five cheese, don’t ask me the difference because I literally have no ideas, pepperoni, vegetable supreme, meat lovers, and the most sinful of all pizza’s hawiian.” 

“I honestly don’t know, they wouldn’t have margarita by chance?” 

“Oh come on please don’t tell me the only pizza you have ever is fancy rich boy pizza from Italy?” 

The silence from Klaus is answer enough. 

“Alright, then I am making an executive decision. We are going to get one half three cheese and one half pepperoni because don’t ask why I hate sausage on pizza and I have a pet peeve about wam vegetables. Now I mean seriously I know you have only been back in New York a month but you came here in the summers right? And you’re telling me that you're dad never once ordered pizza for you guys?” 

“Well first of all the most my dad ever did when we were here this summer is lecture us about how all of our behavior reflects him and his company. The cooks we had only ever made traditional English food and pizza let me tell you isn’t traditional English food. Which is probably a good thing because while England as whole is a magnificent place their food for the most part is particularly aborish with the only stands out being some breakfast dishes, desert, tea, and beer.” 

“Fair enough, my friend who is British took me to a British pub for dinner somewhere in Brooklyn one time and let me tell you I almost wholeheartedly threw up afterwards. Though it must be nice being from the place that created  _ Harry Potter  _ one of the best literary and movie series of all time.” 

I finally found our stash of Cheerwine cans in the deepest reaches of the fridge when Klaus says “I am almost afraid to tell you that I have never even seen or read Harry Potter.” 

“Wait, what?” I say for what must have been the fiftieth time to him immediately pulling my head up forgetting that I was in the fridge and banging against the top of the fridge.

I mumble a quick ow before grabbing our sodas and making a beeline back to the couch to join Klaus. “Alright, please tell me this is a sick joke that you have crafted because for some weird reason you take a sick sort of satisfaction from me getting upset about your clear lack of understanding of pop culture. I mean you're literally British the main thing your country is known for nowadays is the monarchy which I have done my research about seems like for the most part is pointless by the way, but moving past that is also known for Harry Potter a worldwide phenomenon even more so than  _ Friends _ .” 

“Once again the only thing I can say is that growing up the only things that we were allowed to read were the works of philosophers and critical thinkers such as Aristotle and if my parents were feeling especially generous the occasional classic such as L. Frank Baum’s  _ The Wizard of Oz _ if only to write a paper on how it was a metaphor for the socialists ways of your country. Than when I was older it didn’t seem that appealing to me to read stories about mythical creatures and people in pointy hats waving around tiny wooden sticks saying ‘abracadabra’ “ 

“Alright let me just say  _ Harry Potter  _ is nothing like that and I’m just going to ignore the fact that you just dissed one of my favorite book series because and only because the childhood you just described sounds awfully boring and drab. So I propose a deal where we each create a list of things we want the other to try and do, read, watch, etc. so that way we don’t keep on being surprised and shocked about the others knowledge of pop culture or lack thereof.” 

“We?” 

“Okay, fine me. Deal?” 

“Deal.” he says reaching out to shake my hand before pulling it up to his mouth to give it a soft kiss sending shivers down my spine giving me a subtle picture of all the other places his mouth could be tonight. 

“Perfect!” I say drawing my hand back. “Now I think the first thing we would add to the list is read the complete  _ Harry Potter  _ series.” 

For a second Klaus furrows his eyebrows in confusion “I thought they made those books into movies, why not just watch those?” 

“Are you trying to kill me here?” I ask blatantly and immediately regret when I picture the girl in the hospital but quickly shake it off. 

After a quick argument about how books are almost always better than the movie that is when we finally order the pizza and start to watch  _ Frozen. _ When it arrives and I open up the box I practically drool at the sight of the hot, bubbly, and steaming pizza because while I would much rather not have a tumor inside of me the one small bright side to the whole taking a break from chemo thing is that I don’t have to have a strict diet anymore, and while I can’t go to a Golden Corral and gorge myself on crappy nachos and chocolate covered strawberries and cotton candy I can have the occasional Max’s Pizza and Cheerwine which Klaus said both were pretty good. 

When the credits finished rolling and I turned off the t.v. I looked over at Klaus and asked “So once again have my tastes in pop culture been exquisite or what?” 

“While it wasn’t completely spectacular: it wasn’t completely terrible either as much as I hate to admit it I particularly liked the song where the blonde one sung on the mountain.” 

“Really? I never pegged you for the  _ Let it Go  _ type of guy.” 

“I think you’ll find that I am full of surprises.” 

“And I think you’ll soon find out that I’m the same way.” 

“I don’t doubt it. Now as fun as this is I believe that I was promised some…. other entertainments for tonight that unlike the movie we just watched aren’t suitable for children in exchange for the last slice of pizza which I might say was harder than I thought.” he says, his eyes lighting up and a seductive smirk spreading across his face. 

“I do believe that I promised you that, so why don’t we I don’t know get me the heck out of this onesie and take this back to my room. Unless if I don’t know the onesie has grown on you after seeing the movie and you have developed a snowman kink.” 

“Never in a million years would that happen; I don’t think there is anyone out there who would have any amount of desire to sleep with someone who is specifically wearing a snowman suit.” 

“You would be surprised what kind of weirdos are in this city. I mean there was this guy who thought a good way to get a girl would be to purposely run into her on the street and ask her out and if you ask me that is pretty-” 

I’m immediately cut off my Klaus pulling me into a searing kiss and pushing me back down on the couch. When we pull apart I let out a small laugh and say “cute. I think it’s pretty cute.” and he lets out a small bark of laughter in return before trying to resume kissing me. 

“Hold on there tiger my friends would kill me if we didn’t take this back to my room.” 

“As the lady wishes then” he says, picking me up and I quickly wrap my legs around his waist as he carries me back to my room Olaf onesie and all the while placing kisses on my lips. When the door finally clothes it becomes a race to see who could take each others clothes off the fastest (which he easily wins as he only has to perform one quick yank at the front of my onesie and just slide it off) Then we spent a long time finding comfort in the feeling of being in each others arms once again. Later on that night we are still entangled in eachothers arms with me pressed against his toned chest and his arms wrapped around my middle when an idea pops into my head. 

“You know now that we are here I believe it is the perfect time to start reading  _ Harry Potter _ . What do you say?” 

“I’m not sure…” he trails off.

“Oh come on… please?” I say turning around to face him propping my head up on my arm trying to show off my best pouty eyes. 

“Oh alright fine” Klaus says letting out a pretend huff of irritation. 

“Thanks!” I exclaim a smile lighting up my face before I press a quick kiss to his lips before hopping out of bed. As I saunter over to the bookshelf in the far corner of the room I share with Bonnie before pulling out my well worn copy of  _ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone  _ before settling back into his arms. “Now pay attention Klaus because I am about to change your life with one of the greatest stories ever told.  _ Chapter 1: The Boy Who Lived….” _

Ironic read for a girl who’s dying right? 


End file.
